


Kingdom from the Ashes, Rise.

by Azure_Witch13, Green_Phantom_Queen



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: And we love Yoko so much, EVERYONE IS BI AND IN A POLY OR OPEN RELATIONSHIP, F/M, Horror Tropes, Hypnotism, I'm actually gonna do something with the bracelet girls, I'm not so sure about the pairings, M/M, Mind Control, Mind Fuck, Mind fuck... Because apparently also Yuto, Multi, Oh wait Zarc with the Original mind Fuck powers, Parent/Child Incest, Ships for days., Sibling Incest, Yoko is awesome, Zarc wins, because Yuri, daddy zarc, dragon boys, tags might be added, yu-boys are actually dragons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2020-10-28 23:10:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 371,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20786591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azure_Witch13/pseuds/Azure_Witch13, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Green_Phantom_Queen/pseuds/Green_Phantom_Queen
Summary: [Around Episode 37] In the duel between Yuto and Yugo, Yuya was desperate to stop them from fighting. It hurt, it hurt to see them doing so...Hands of Darkness suddenly wrap their arms around him, and golden eyes replace red ones. Father is back.





	1. Chapter 1 Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuto and Yugo are just one turn away from killing each other and Yuya wishes to stop it.
> 
> And Yuya's wish will soon be granted by a single person.
> 
> Father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: This is co-author Green Phantom Queen here, helping to re-edit some typos left behind by darkangel.
> 
> Also, if you find some similarities to my fanfic, "Between My Brother and Me: Mors Omnibus" don't be too surprised. darkangel herself told me that my story was an inspiration for this one.

**Hi everyone. So yeah, I have this story. This is the first time I write a Yu-gi-oh story, and I'm very very new to Arc- V, and I'll happily take any help you guys would like to extend.**

**I hope you enjoy this guys, and please tell me what you think about it. **

**************************

Yuya Sakaki had a strange night...horrible? Yes, it was an absolutely horrible night.

First, he met a strange duplicate of himself -Yuto- who came from another _ dimension _that specialized only in Xyz summoning. This dimension, Heartland, was attacked by something called Academia otherwise known as the Fusion Dimension. Sora, one of Yuya's closest friends, turned out to be one of the people that attacked Yuto’s home, talking and screaming gleefully about how he and Academia destroyed and carded the people there. But just as he was about to reveal anything else, there was a flash of light from his Duel Disk and he disappeared.

Currently, Yuto and another boy with his and Yuya's face -Yugo, his mind supplied somehow- were both fighting and attacking each other. Their Dragons -- beautiful Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and fearsome Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon had called for one another with savage roars and both boys had glowing eyes and were talking about destruction.

Yuya’s heart hurt upon seeing this, and he clenched his fist over it. He could feel it pound against his chest, the sound getting louder with each passing second until it took over the roars of the two dragons wanting to murder one another. This was wrong. This was absolutely wrong!

_ ‘These two...they shouldn’t...they shouldn’t be fighting!’ _the red eyed boy thought in pain as Clear Wing and Dark Rebellion continued to attack while Yugo and Yuto stared each other down, wanting more than to kill the other over what seemed to be a simple misunderstnding. _I...I have to do something about it. This has to stop now!_

Then, something inside was awakening within him. Yuya could feel it as he clutched his heart and gasped: the pain getting stronger, the sorrow of seeing these two wanting to murder each other, the static energy and power he could feel in the air and all he can think about is that he wants all of this to stop. He wanted to move, but his legs felt like they were made of lead. He was planted in place, tears trickling in his eyes as he just wanted everything to just STOP! 

_ ‘Stop!’ _Yuya screamed in his head. _ ‘Stop stop stop! PLEASE STOP! STOP IT NOW! SOMEBODY STOP THEM!!!’ _

“Enough!” A booming voice roared, and Yuya could feel himself being hugged from behind by arms made of darkness. For a split second, his heart was gripped with fear even more, wondering who this being was and why it wanted him...before feelings of love, happiness and euphoria clouded his senses and he felt like he could fall there and then.

**_“_****_It_ ** _ ’s _ ** _Al_ ** _ righ _ ** _t n_ ** _ ow my _ ** _Shooting Star. I_ ** _ ’m here” _ A dark yet comfortable voice whispered into Yuya's ear and Yuya could feel himself smile in relief, tears in his eyes. He knew this voice, knew it like he knew a song from long ago.

He was here. Everything was going to be okay.

_Father...Father is here. _Yuya thought as he closed his eyes and happily let himself fall into these loving arms of Darkness. 

_..._

_..._

_..._

Golden eyes snapped open to the sight of Clear Wing and Dark Rebellion fighting and he knew who exactly was dueling right this very minute. _”Yuto, Yugo.” _ The figure thought, relief in his mind at seeing those two again. But he knew that they were angry, knew that they were going to tear each other apart at this rate. He had to stop them now.

Dark whips of power flew from Yuya’s body and a similar dark aura surrounded him, his green and red spiky hair rose up as power flew from his body, radiating in waves. His beloved Dragons sensed this and turned to the crimson-eyed boy, calling out in happiness and greeting to their master. It had been so long, so long since they had seen one another.

_Zarc_, their master, their king, had returned to the land of the living.

“Enough!” Zarc commanded his children, and both Yuto and Yugo froze, eyes still glowing lavender and cyan. The anger that fueled them to fight each other was gone and swiftly replaced by the feelings of peace and love. Both boys suddenly felt weak and tired, so, so tired. They wanted to close their eyes and bask in that feeling of love and security that Zarc was emitting. 

“Come,” he ordered softly, beckoning to his sons. "Come to me, my sons." 

Both boys were reluctant to approach this stranger, but _ he _has given an order. Zarc's will was their will, and they must...they must _obey_. Always obey him.

Yugo and Yuto moved from different sides, following the command. They walked closer to the outstretched arms of the man, their eyes heavy, their legs shaking with each step as it was slowly dawning on them who this person was. 

“That’s it,” Zarc whispered softly, proudly. “That’s it my beautiful boys, come to me. It’s alright now,” he continued to whisper, his smile setting into a devilish smirk. Both boys finally reached him, and Zarc was filled with pride, glee and happiness. He has returned, and three of his children were in his arms once more. 

Yuto’s mind was blank, tired and confused. He was just...wasn’t he fighting someone? To get...to get…but the voice beckoned him closer, urging him and the other boy on, and Yuto only wanted to obey that voice. To be in that embrace,_ his _embrace. The name of this person was on the tip of Yuto’s tongue. Who...who was...? 

“Father.” He heard the other boy... Yugo...his name is Yugo. That’s right! He was fighting Yugo...why...why was he fighting Yugo? He couldn’t for the life of him remember anything except Father’s command. But it can’t be, this couldn’t be his father...Yuto lost his family in the war. Looking at the person in front of him it looked like Yuya...his..._their_ beloved Yuya...but those eyes, those magnificent shining golden eyes.

Father! It was Father! A deep primal voice inside Yuto assured him, yes, it was Father! 

“Father,” Yuto whispered in wonder, hugging the man tightly, tears falling down his glowing eyes. Tears that haven’t fallen for so, so long. 

“My sweet Specter, my beautiful Treasure,” Zarc whispered softly, caressing their faces gently, power radiating from Yuya’s body. Father’s powers. His father was caressing his and Yugo’s cheeks softly, lovingly, and both boys shivered at the touch.

Part of Yugo, the part that had lived all this new life wanted to stop and process what was happening right now. But the bigger part of Yuto, the wounded boy, the sorrowful son couldn’t care less, because he was back. Back in father’s loving arms again, and he couldn’t be more grateful. 

“Oh my sweet loves, it’s alright, Father’s here, Father will make everything alright again.” Zarc cooed.

“Father, Father is here,” Yugo repeated leaning into their Father’s gentle touch happily, eyes closed in bliss. 

“Father will make everything alright again,” said Yuto, mirroring his brother. 

“That’s right, my sweet ones,” Zarc whispered and kissed Yuto and Yugo’s foreheads lovingly. Yugo, body shaking, buried his face and Father’s shoulder, and Yuto did the same, both wrapping their arms around their father’s waist, nuzzling him. The familiar scent and aura of darkness overrode any worry that lingered in his mind. It was okay, everything was going to be okay.

Zarc rested his chin on their heads, holding two of his boys in his arms, basking in this brief reunion. He was back and he was never going to leave his sons alone, broken or sad ever again.

******************

Zarc dried the tears of both of his children and took them away. He could feel someone approaching them and he had wanted to talk to his children with no interruption. The two boys who were once fighting now clung to his arms as they walked, purring softly like sleepy kittens. They found a bench in another part of the park they were in, and the three of them rested there. Using his magic, Zarc blew up the cameras around them, still feeling that something was not right.

“So the two of you were fighting because of a misunderstanding?” Zarc asked as both boys relayed their stories to him. Both of them looked away sheepishly. They were so focused on getting revenge on each other that they never thought of actually talking things over. 

“Hold on, if you didn’t take Rin...” said Yugo, pointing at Yuto.

“And you didn’t take Ruri," Yuto added, realization dawning upon him. "Then who di-” 

**“Yuri!”** The brothers said coming to the same conclusion. Yugo smacked his head and let out a tired groan while Yuto crossed his arms and let out an equally tired sigh. 

“Yuri? My darling Lily?” Zarc was somewhat confused about Yuri kidnapping these random girls...but they weren’t were they? These girls meant a lot to his children if they were willing to fight one another for them. So there should be something special about them. “Both of you boys crossed dimensions for these girls. Are they that special?” he questioned. 

“She is,” Yugo answered. “Rin is…” his eyes widened as another memory came to the surface. His eyes widened in horror, and he gripped his head. A pained look crossed his face as it dawned on him why he felt so attached to Rin. "No...nononono..."

“Yugo?” Zarc asked concerned, both father and son reached for the blue haired boy concerned frown on both their faces. 

“Ray,” Yugo whispered in horror. Zarc’s eyes widened in worry and confusion, Yuto, on the other hand, gained the same look of devastation as he too remembered.

“What?” asked Zarc.

“Rin...she...she looks like Ray Akaba, Father,” Yuto explained, tears beginning to fall down again. A memory of a woman with long red and black hair flashed in his mind, along with a flash of light and four agonized cries.

“So does Ruri,” Yuto whispered, looking at the ground, his hands clenching.

“But...but she’s not,” said Yugo through tears begging his father, and holding his hand. “She’s not Ray, Father, please, you have to...you have to believe me. She’s not! Rin...Rin was all I had in this life. She can’t be Ray, it couldn’t...it couldn’t have been a lie!” On Zarc’s other side Yuto was shaking...And that’s when it all clicked for Zarc. The reason Leo Akaba had ordered all these things, the attack on the Xyz dimension, why Yuri was ordered to take these girls...

But are they truly not Ray Akaba like his children are asking him to believe? 

“Humm?” Zarc hummed in question as Yuya also shared his memories of this life, of the girl who looks like Ray in this dimension...Yuzu Hiragi. And Zarc could see it in her pink hair and blue eyes that, yes, she looked exactly like Ray. But...

“My Loves, hush now,” Zarc whispered and gathered Yuto and Yugo into his arms, kissing the top of their heads, before linking their foreheads together. The boys instinctively closed their eyes and opened their minds to their father. “Show me your memories, remember these girls, let me look through your eyes, let me judge,” Zarc whispered and both boys complied easily, remembering every memory of Ruri and Rin. Yuya also brought up his happy memories with Yuzu, also praying that Yuzu was not part of Ray either.

Yugo knew. He knew that Ray should be punished after what she did to Father and them. Destroying and scattering Father, scattering he and his brothers away. But...Rin, his best and only friend, the one girl, one person he could depend on and trust with all his heart...the girl he would cross entire dimensions for. _ His Rin was not Ray Akaba! _

And that’s why it was a great indescribable relief when Father asked to look at their memories, Father could see, could believe for himself. There was hope, there was! Because if Father saw it, then Rin...he could get Rin back. 

...Zarc smirked as he shifted between the memories of his beloved sons, at a plan forming in his mind. He licked his lips in satisfaction. He would be planning something that not only would make Leo Akaba regret all that he has done, but one that also would remove any and all hope that the man would have, and would as well make sure Ray can _ never _ return. 

Zarc wiped the tears from his children’s faces, and gave each of them a kiss on the forehead. “Hush now,” he whispered again, rubbing their backs lovingly. 

“Father, do you…?” Yuto tried to ask, but he was cut off as Father caressed his face gently.

“You are right my loves, all three of you,” Zarc said with a gentle smile. He kissed Yugo’s head again and leaned on the bench with both his children in his arms. “And I know just what to do, to return these girls to the both of you,” he said with a smile. 

“Re-really?!” Yugo exclaimed happily. 

Zarc nodded. “But I am going to need your help, my darlings, if we wanted your girls to be safe,” he said in a sweet voice, full of cunning. 

“Anything!” Yugo was quick to reply.

“Whatever you need from us, Father.” Yuto nodded in agreement.

Zarc smirked. If everything worked out as planned...“Tomorrow, my precious ones,” he said. “Now the two of you rest, and reunite with your younger brother.”

“Yuya,” Yuto whispered burying his head in his father’s chest. Yugo did the same. 

“And the both of you, stay away from Yuzu Hiragi,” Zarc warned, voice firm. “That bracelet that she has caries powers that even I am not impervious to, so we must be careful.”

“Yes Father,” said Yuto, his head downcast in acceptance of his orders. 

“Yuzu?” Yugo asked with a tilt of his head. 

Zarc attached their foreheads together giving Yugo a picture of Yuzu Hiragi -- a girl with pink hair held up in pigtails by blue-silver baubles and bright blue eyes. Just like Rin, Yuzu also had a bracelet on her right wrist. Silver with a rose quartz gem. “You must be careful, my darlings.” 

“Of course Father,” said Yuto, Yugo nodded in agreement. Zarc smiled lovingly and proudly at his sons. “Give my Shooting Star a kiss from me,” he said softly before giving Yuto and Yugo a kiss on their foreheads of their own. The Dragon King then closed his eyes to return to the darkness... 

And Yuya Sakaki’s eyes opened, soft crimson red. He blinked a few times, opening his lips to say something. Before he could say anything, his two older brothers each wrapped their arms around him and nuzzled him, prepping his face with loving and adoring kisses. The red eyes boy mewled happily, hugging both boys closer and nuzzling to them. He had missed this so much, even if he hadn’t remembered, his heart had missed his family dearly. But they can’t be together yet...not fully. He hugged his brothers closer memories of all four of them and father slowly returning.

_Yuri will you come back?_ He thought, remembering the eldest brother with purple and pink hair along with that haughty smile on his face. _We_ _still need you and Father._

“** _It’s alright my little Shooting Star,”_ ** Yuya exhaled in surprise once he heard Zarc...Father’s voice whisper in his mind to relieve him of his worries. “ ** _We will be together once more. We will become whole. We will reunite._ **”

“Reunite,” Yuya whispered dreamily, eyes half misted.

“Reunite,” Yuto repeated. 

“Reunite,” Yugo whispered happily.

“** _Reunite.”_ **

Zarc gave one more kiss on their foreheads as Yuya nodded his head. He felt reassured that things were going to be okay now, now that he had his brothers and _Father_ back.

With a sigh, Yuya looked at his brothers, so glad that they were here, not wanting to hurt each other, now fully aware of what was going on. The time to reminisce and be together would have to wait though. “We need to rest for the night,” he told them. "Let’s go home.”

“But...we don’t have..” Yuto began to say and Yugo looked away in shame.

“It’s alright,” Yuya replied, standing up and putting his hands on his hips with the biggest loving smile on his lips. “I’m not letting my brothers have nowhere to sleep. Follow me.”

“Wait, Yuya,” Yugo wanted to protest. But Yuya just smiled.

“No buts. You two are coming home with me now,” he said and extended his arms, inviting both boys for another hug. The two older brothers exchanged a look, both a little weary, but it was what Yuya wanted...and what Yuya wanted, his brothers were all too happy to give to him. They both smiled at each other and stood, walking to Yuya and hugging him again, nuzzling their cheeks together. 

***********

They sneaked around the trees making sure they don’t run into Yuzu as they went back to where they had been before. Yugo refused to leave his D-Wheel, and it’s not like his brothers blamed him, though the three of them had to squeeze together to fit on it with Yuya in the middle, sitting and holding on tight to Yugo trying to point the way to his home, and while Yuto sat on the very back.

They swiftly reached the Sakaki residence and, after some difficulty. Yuya hid the D-wheel in the garage and snuck Yugo and Yuto into his room. His bed was too small for all three of them and Yuya pouted, slightly thinking on what to do. A huge grin spread across Yuya’s face as he got an idea. He snapped his fingers and started looking around, gathering several things.

“Yuya really,” said Yuto, seeing Yuya go to a cabinet and pull out fresh bedsheets and pillows from the bottom shelf.

“We can sleep on the floor, no big deal,” Yugo agreed.

“Nope!” Yuya said cheerfully, “I’m not having my brothers just sleeping on the floor,” He gathered more pillows and blankets before spreading them around and finally making a big nest for the three of them to lay in. He looked at both his brothers as he sat in the middle of the nest, smiling up at them. When they didn't respond, he just tilted his head cutely, eyes closed. _Please, big brothers? Sleep with me?_

Neither Yugo nor Yuto could protest or remotely resist that look. Nor could they protest wearing the pajamas Yuya had given them, having tossed their clothes onto a pile at the corner. 

“I’m gonna need to explain a lot of things to mom tomorrow, but we’ve been through a lot tonight...awakening...remembering.” Yuya sighed. His brothers nodded, both now exhausted too. 

The green and red haired boy laid down in their nest. Yugo and Yuto quickly joined him, nuzzling him, all getting comfortable, they started purring happily, and slowly but surely the three of them fell asleep in each other’s arms.

A shadow hovered above all three of them, its golden eyes watched with love and pride as his sons slept. His sweet boys. He shall watch over them. And this time, he will make sure he and his little princes never fall again.


	2. Chapter 2: Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finally have a nice day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 guys I hope you enjoy it. ^^

So let’s make one thing explicitly clear.

Dragons are _ possessive_. It is simply their nature.

They hoard their gold, gems and any other possessions that weren't shiny but just as valuable in caves high in the mountains, and would kill any and all who would dare touch them, or be foolish enough to want to take their treasures. And for Supreme Dragon King Zarc, nothing is more precious or most loved of his treasures than his four sons. 

Which is why this day has been both infuriating...and eye opening for Zarc.

It had started when Yuya’s...mother -_ the thought left the taste of ashes on Zarc’s tongue _\- entered the room. Invisible to all, Zarc’s eyes snapped to the woman who had entered, calling Yuya’s name.

Yoko Sakaki froze in place as she looked down at the pillow and blanket nest and the three boys sleeping inside, limbs tangled together, with Yuya in the middle lying on his side and unconsciously nuzzling to Yuto’s neck, while Yugo did the same to Yuya, purring like ktitens and even mewing like them. She stared at them, curious as to how she obtained two more sons overnight.

The Dragon King glared at the woman and her reaction to see if he needed to protect his children. She was human after all, and to him they’re all dangerous. Especially when one of his own was vulnerable; his time between them long ago did not change that.

And as much as Zarc's plans hinged on no one discovering his existence, and the added trouble of his powers being limited at the moment, almost destroyed because of Ray Akab, it did not mean that he would not risk using them if it would protect his sons.

But what he saw surprised him. 

Zarc could see the wheels inside the woman's head running and thinking as she stared in wonder -as well as an emotion Zarc refused to believe was in this woman's eyes. They softened. And Zarc was shocked by that, but quickly regained his composure and readiness to attack. 

The woman looked around the room and her eyes fell on the clothes Yugo and Yuto had been wearing. She walked towards them and then tucked them under her arm before giving his boys another look with a sweet smile on her face. She then left the room, closing the door behind her. 

Zarc frowned and hovered over his children again, hands of Darkness and Shadows caressing his sons’ cheeks softly. Yuya shivered and pressed his face to Yuto while hugging Yugo closer. He needed to process this all in while giving off his affection for his treasures that he has not given them in years. 

An hour or so later, his sons started to wake up. The first was Yuto, who appeared to be a little confused at first. The little Phantom stiffened there, frozen. He didn't even appear to be breathing at first before he heard a soft sigh from Yuya, who had a sweet smile on his face. The sight made Yuto relax, and he smiled happily looking at his brothers who were still entangled with him. Yuto looked down and couldn't help but run his hand through Yuya's hair, his shooting star in return gave a happy sigh, leaning to the touch. A loving smile graced the little specter's lips as his brothers slept on. 

Yuya nuzzled to his brother's hand, and his eyes fluttered open. Looking around, he found Yuto with his grey eyes and soft smile staring back at him. The red and green haired boy purred happily...which woke Yugo up, who sat up as if from a nightmare, not sure what was going on. Noticing his brothers also in the nest, Yugo smiled and hugged Yuya tighter before giving him a kiss on the cheek, then wrapping his arms around Yuto. 

Knowing that they were already awake, the boys reluctantly untangled themselves from each other and and stood up to get out of their cozy nest. Yuto was the first to stand up and looked around, blinking a few times.

“Yuya,” his Phantom called. 

“Hmm?” Yuya asked as he walked to his closet to get his clothes. 

“...I can’t find my clothes,” Yuto said, seeing his tattered coat, olive blouse, and charcoal tie gone.

“Haa!” Yugo yelled. “And I can’t find my suit either!” he said in distress as he kept looking around. Under pillows, under the bedsheets and even under the bed...but it wasn’t there at all!

Yuya blinked in confusion before he realized something. “Oh, my mom must’ve taken them to wash them or something...wait a minute, Mom!” He yelled, realizing she came in and saw everything. 

This was bad. This was bad. This. was. BAD!!!!

“Ok, just um, just borrow some of my clothes and let me try to..um explain what’s going on,” Yuya said as he finished changing, Yugo and Yuto looked at each other with worry before they followed Yuya while still in their (Yuya's) pajamas. 

Minutes later, once everyone was out, Yuya instructed his brothers to slide down the fireman's pole -- why would the house even have one in the first place? -- to make it easier to get to the kitchen. Both of his brothers agreed that it was faster than trampling down a set of stairs.

“Mom,” Yuya said, a little sheepish and panicked as he entered the kitchen. His mom, Yoko Sakaki, was preparing her famous pancake batter, her back to him. By her side were the family pets -- En the Corgi, Core the white fluffy cat with dichromatic eyes, Kilo the Bulldog and Watt the poodle along with the two cats Yoko didn’t name yet -- all eating their breakfast with glee. “Um...good morning.”

“Oh Yuya,” Yoko said, looking at him from over her shoulder with a smile...which was when Yugo and Yuto reach him, almost running in with a small amount of panic. 

_ Uh oh... _Yuto and Yugo thought, seeing the look of astonishment on the woman’s face. Especially when said woman set the bowl of pancake batter and turned around.

“So Yuya, when were you going to tell me...” Yoko began, standing in front of them, her hands on her hips and with a playful smile on her face. 

“Te-tell you? Tell you what?” Yuya asked a little sheepish. 

Yoko chuckled. “Tell me that I got two new sons, of course.”

Yuto’s and Yugo’s eyes widened in shock and confusion, along with a small feeling of wonder...Zarc, on the other hand, was _ livid _.

Now you have to understand this, Zarc is not usually an idiot, nor would he have risked his children’s safety, however as established before...

Dragons

Are

** possessive. **

And Zarc had just reunited with three of his sons after all these years, so who was this woman to come in and claim Zarc’s sons as _ hers _?! 

Suddenly a lightbulb above their heads exploded. Yoko didn't flinch, but her sons realized what this meant.

_Father, NO!!! _ all three of them thought. 

Stormy winds and whips of Darkness flew around the kitchen. Yoko’s eyes widened as the dark winds started breaking cups and dishes, causing the pets to flee and yelp in terror. The four humans yelled in fear as Zarc’s wrath was unleashed more and more, and it probably would not have stopped if it weren’t for what happened next. 

Yoko had instinctively wrapped her arms around the boys, hugging them to her to try and protect them from whatever was going on. As more and more cups and plates exploded like bombs. the boys, like the cats and dogs hiding underneath the dining table, whimpered in Yoko’s arms, all three clinging to her and each other, and Yoko not letting go of them. 

_ Stopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstop…. _ Yuto pleaded, memories of Academia across Heartland rampaging in his mind, of soldiers with Ancient Gear monsters destroying everything and laughing at the carnage, the screams of people fleeing in terror before they were transformed into cards. Each of these memories flashing with each and every cup or plate that broke. _ STOP!!!!!! _

It was hard to breathe, hard to think. He just wanted to hide from it all. His tears fell down his cheeks as he clutched more to Yoko and his brothers. _ No more, no more. _ Yuto sobbed. _ Don’t make me remember, Father… _

Zarc froze, seeing the fear in his children’s faces and sensing their panic in his soul, hearing Yuto beg like that; so scared and panicking and afraid. Memories flashed behind Zarc’s eyes, seeing what Yuto had went through, his poor precious boy. The one who was so afraid of thunder and lightning when it crashed until Zarc helped conquer his fear by sleeping during a thunderstorm one night. Now Yuto loved rain and thunder, stomping in giant puddles and riding Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon whenever the clouds got dark and stormy.

Zarc’s heart shattered; Yuto did not deserve to go through these traumatic moments. And definitely not by his hand. He was Yuto's_ father ;_ it was always Zarc’s job to protect his children from anything that could harm them, or cause them distress, not cause it himself.

And upon seeing Yoko’s determination to keep them safe, the dark winds died down. Oh, the Supreme Dragon King was still angry, still possessive. But he was apologetic for what he’d almost caused his precious boys. His powers softly touched his children caressing their cheeks or their hair, softly apologizing to them, phantom lips kissing them softly. He had to be more careful with himself, at the very least until he regained himself fully, then his children would be back to being his and his alone. 

**_I’m so sorry, my sons._** Zarc said. **_I didn’t mean to terrify you…_**

** _“Father...” _ **The three of them cried softly to him, shivering. Zarc wished he could take them all in his arms again and hug them, comfort them. 

“Are you boys okay?” Yoko asked worried, seeing the tears on her shirt. She began looking all of them over, patting them, making sure they weren’t hurt. The three of them nodded.

“We’re okay, mom. Are...are you alright?” Yuya asked timidly. 

Yoko, satisfied that they weren't harmed, looked around her kitchen and sighed with her hands on her hips. 

“Mom?” Yuya asked again, worried. 

Yoko turned towards him with a proud grin. “Of course I’m fine, Yuya. I’m Yoko Sakaki, and demonic wind isn’t enough to knock me down." She looked around the kitchen again, at the broken plates and glasses shattered on the floor and counter as if this was nothing more than confetti. En, Core, Kilo and Watt and the two cats that Yoko hadn’t named yet, poked their heads out in curiosity, waiting to see if anything else could fall on their heads, before they approached Yoko with happy barks and meows. "Although, that _ is _suspicious that all of this happened after I asked if you were all right..." She gave an annoyed sigh. “It’s fine, whatever this is, I’ll deal with it.” 

Unknown to her, the three boys were feeling guilty for causing this. Yuya silently brought the mop and started to help his mom clean, the other two not far behind with the dustpan and rubber gloves. Zarc stayed quiet just watching as the four silently cleaned up as if nothing happened. Zarc hated this, his lack of control, his missing of his physical body and the thought of his children’s love going to someone other than him, it was all so _ infuriating. _

At that thought, he saw his boys flinch again, breaking his heart. They feared him, Yuto especially. The memories of this life dominating more than the memories of their true life, back in their castle.

**_Shh, I’m sorry my Loves. I’m sorry. Papa’s not mad at you, Papa will never hurt you, remember? It’s alright. _ **He whispered, caressing their hair, sending them emotions of regret and love. 

All three boys relaxed, knowing their father would never do such a thing again. Zarc’s phantom lips prepped more kisses on Yuto in more and more apology. He’ll fix things, he promised he would. 

****************

“So boys,” said Yoko, as the four finally began to eat breakfast. Yugo and Yuto were looking at the amazing looking food with amazement and longing. They both swallowed and licked their lips, and Yoko didn’t fail to notice that. “Would any of you like to tell me why all three of you look like each other and why this is the first time I’ve heard of you? Because from what I saw upstairs an hour ago tells a different story than three strangers who had just met.”  


Yuto and Yugo suddenly felt like the pancakes, strips of bacon and scrambled eggs would taste like ashes in their mouth. Yuya, taking a sip of orange juice, spat it out in shock.

“Oh well, it’s uh, it’s...complicated,” Yuya tried to explain, setting the glass on the table and hoping Father didn’t decide to cause it to explode.

“And where are these twos' parents?" asked Yoko, still keeping her eye on Yuto and Yugo. One boy with the same face as her son would have screamed "doppelganger" which in itself was a cause to believe some supernatural shit was about to go down; after all, in horror movies and shows doppelgangers were a sign of the mystic and weird. _ Two _ boys with the same face meant something even _ bigger _that that was at work. "Aside from you all sleeping like newborn kittens on the floor, the clothes that were scattered on the floor leads me to believe the two of them sleeping here last night was not planned.” 

“No, it kinda... wasn’t,” Yuya admitted rubbing the back of his head, not sure where to begin.

Zarc stayed silent, but was giving his boys gentle touches, caressing Yuya’s cheek, running his hand over Yugo’s shoulder and arm, or petting Yuto’s hair. He finally settled with wrapping invisible arms around Yuto who seemed to be very tense, which did help the boy relaxed in his father’s arms. Zarc ran two fingers down Yuto’s cheek, invisible to all, and the boy fought the shiver going down his spine to not alert Yoko of anything.

But Yoko wasn't an ignorant woman; she had a keen eye for stuff like this and she could tell by how her son paused that something was amiss. 

“Yuto and Yugo are… umm,” Yuya began, but he wasn’t sure how to explain it to his mother or what he should omit.

“It...it might sound ridiculous but, Yugo and I hail from...other dimensions,” Yuto answered finally. Yoko’s eyebrow rose, but she didn’t comment or laugh. She simply looked at all three boys with a calm calculating look. Seeing as she wasn't laughing or screaming at this revelation, Yuto continued. “There are four dimensions and each one is based on the summoning methods. Xyz which where I came from, Synchro, which is where Yugo is from, Fusion...and finally you and Yuya are Standard, which is this dimension that somehow has all the summoning methods.” 

"So that means the three you mentioned, Tribute, Ritual and Yuya's new form of Pendulum Summoning," Yoko clarified.

Yuto started to shake, taking a few breaths to calm himself down. Yoko was a stranger, not only that, as parts of his past memory came back to him, some of the distrust that he used to have against humanity clashed with the thoughts that he had now. Furthermore, Yoko was nice, and has let them sleep here when she discovered them, washed their clothes, cooked breakfast for them all, and even tried to protect them when Father had unleashed some of his power in a burst of anger. 

Zarc’s hands were on Yuto’s shoulders, Yugo took one hand and Yuya the other and they squeezed them reassuringly, giving him an encouraging smile. Yuto exhaled as he continued his story, head bent down like a sleeping bird.

“One day, my home of Heartland was invaded by Fusion soldiers. They fought us and turned people into cards, not just duelists, but families, children. Our beautiful home turned into a wasteland because of them. And more than that, my best friend’s sister Ruri was kidnapped. So a few of us found a way to travel dimensions and arrive here, to either find enemies and beat them or find allies to help us,” Yuto looked up at Yoko with sad eyes. “You...you must think I’m lying.” 

Yoko looked at how Yuto was close to crying. Her heart broke at that; it reminded her too much of the days when Yuya would cry after people mocked him for Yusho's disappearance, to the point that his goggles were filled with tears. She never _ ever _wanted to see that look again.

Yoko gave him a sad smile, eyes soft and wet like a flower kissed with morning dew. She shook her head, rose from her seat and before they know it, Yuto was in her arms, being hugged, all while Yoko carded her hand through his hair. “I believe you,” she answered. “No one can replicate that sad look in your eyes, Yuto,” she said and released him giving him a reassuring smile. 

It had taken all of Zarc’s willpower not to send the woman away flying, and he didn’t know how to react when a teary eyed Yuto hugged Yoko and sobbed into her shoulder, the woman running her hand softly through his black and lavender hair. 

Yoko sighed and closed her eyes. “You shouldn’t have gone through that, no one should,” Yuto was looking away, eyes on the ground as his mind kept going back to Heartland -- how a beautiful day out with his friends turned into the worst day of his life. Zarc cupped the back of his neck, sending him feelings of love and safety and Yoko ruffled his hair gently. The combination of Father and...mother giving him affection made Yuto smile in response as he mentally thanked Father for giving him comfort.

Yoko smiled back at him softly before turning to the other boy with blue hair. “What about you, Yugo?” she asked, and Yugo was startled. A bit of pancake dropped out of his mouth in alarm. 

“Huh?” he asked. 

“What’s _ your _story, sweetheart?” Yoko clarified. 

“Oh,” Yugo said, licking his lips. His hands were rubbing together nervously as he started telling his story. “I’m from what Yuto called Synchro. We live in the City where it’s divided into two parts, the 1% who have everything called Tops, and the rest of us, Commoners, looked down upon like trash.”

At that Yoko glared at the thought; she knew that feeling so well.

Yugo continued. “I’ve lived in an orphanage my entire life, and I’ve only had one best friend, Rin. She is...was my everything. We only had each other since we were kids, we took care of each other, and we shared everything, when we were happy when we were sad, when we were lost, we always had each other. Then one day Rin had the feeling that someone was following her, and as much as I could I protected her and stayed by her side but...one night, she was alone and...she was taken from me. I kept looking everywhere for her and after a lot of searching ended up here...” Zarc caressed Yugo’s face gently, wishing to wipe away his tears.

“...I see,” Yoko said, giving Yugo also a hug, and patting his hair. “Then, I guess there's only one thing left to do,” she said.

“A~nd what’s that?” Yuya asked, Yuto and Yugo waiting anxiously. 

“We’ll it’s obvious these two boys are staying here,” Yoko answered and at that Yuto and Yugo’s eyes widened and Zarc can see the protest that was climbing his children’s tongues while Yuya looked ecstatic and relieved. Yoko continued with a warm smile. “And since both of them seem to have only had the clothes on their backs, I’m taking you boys on a shopping trip after we finish up.”

“Wait _ what _?” Yuto asked still, bewildered and not being able to keep up with Yoko’s decision.

“I do need new plates and cups after all.” Yoko chuckled, glad that she kept plastic plates in case of emergency.

Yugo’s jaw was hanging open at the nonchalance of her statement of not only them staying in the house but to also get new clothes, and it fell on Yuto to protest. But all the boy could do was stammer with red cheeks that she didn’t have to, and that it was all too much. 

Yoko chuckled and waved Yuto off; she had made up her mind after all. “Now you boys finish eating. You seem more or less Yuya’s size so for today you can borrow some of his clothes until I buy you something new to wear.”

The two of them were still in Yuya’s pajamas, which they just remembered as they looked down at themselves in them. Both of the boys blushed and Yuya giggled happily, Yoko giving them a huge smile, and Zarc narrowed his eyes. He was satisfied that his little princes would get the attention and care that they deserve and at the moment he couldn’t provide, and simply for that, he found himself not at all angry at Yoko. After all, his little ones deserve nothing less than all of the dimensions bowing to their feet at their whims, and having a human who would happily provide to his sons? He could not get angry, perhaps this human had her uses. These are his sons, after all and no one would take them from him.

As this revelation, Zarc's claws moved lovingly and possessive through Yuya’s hair. Yoko Sakaki will live...

For now.

***************

They boys changed into some of Yuya’s clothes, and Yoko got her car out of the garage. She looked quite interested in Yugo’s D-wheel, running her hand lovingly on it. Yugo seemed satisfied by her reaction, since the D-wheel was his pride and joy. She made Yugo promise that he would talk to her more about it -- and it didn’t exactly take much convincing that Yugo was far too excited to do it -- but shopping came first. 

Yuto looked a bit awkward as the four -five- of them walked through the supermarket. While his face conveyed nothing, his eyes kept darting around and his body language made him look like he wanted to curl up on himself and not be there. Yuya, of course, wanting Yuto to be happy, and so took his hand into his own, squeezing it like one squeezed a pillow. The lavender haired boy blinked in surprise, before turning to Yuya who had an infectious smile at him, which Yuto couldn’t help but return. Forgetting that they were in public or not caring, Yuto nuzzled to his beloved brother happily, and Yuto relaxed with Yuya staying by his side. 

(Yoko noticed this sign of affection through one of the plates she was inspecting, but said nothing)

Yugo, on the other hand, could _not_ contain his excitement. He was looking around like a rabbit in search of a predator who could swallow him in a single gulp, walking away to stare at things through the shop windows, eyes wide and shining with wonder and a smile so huge that it took up half of his face. No one at that moment could crash his mood, nor did they want to. Yuto and Yuya looked happily and adoringly at Yugo as he looked at the clothes, the books, the electronics, the brand new Duel Monster cards! The boy would leave for a few seconds to look at something before he could go back to the others, but would still fidget and try to look everywhere at once before leaving again, gushing over something brand new and wondering how much it costs or hoping that he could buy it for himself or Rin. Yuko chuckled, also finding Yugo's antics to be adorable. 

A particular shop caught Zarc’s eyes. Telling his sons what they needed from them to buy, Yugo and Yuto nodded, and simply asked Yoko to do it claiming they were gifts, which to be fair they were. Each of the two boys chose a silver bracelet, one with a green jewel for Yugo, the other with a beautiful purple color for Yuto. Neither understood what they were actually for, but Zarc assured them he'd tell them everything soon enough.

(Again, Yoko made an observation why they would want _ bracelets _ instead of a pair of matching pendulums like Yuya. But again, she said nothing.)

It was a few hours later after shopping for new clothes, plates, cups and groceries for tonight's dinner that they returned home. Yoko ushered them to Yuya’s room while she made lunch. After some protesting from the boys wanting to help with something, she just told them to go already, and that she’ll be fine. The three reluctantly listened to her, carrying the new clothes bought for Yuto and Yugo and shoving them into Yuya’s closet to sort through later.

Yuya, now with more time, modified their nest with more soft cloths pillows and extra blankets while Yugo and Yuto sat on the bed looking at Yuya adding some plushies to cuddle. When he was done, the two of them jumped at Yuya, all of them falling on the pillows of the nest, giggling in delight. The boys nuzzled each other and probed kisses all over each other’s faces before cuddling for a while. For Yuto and Yugo, this has been a very peaceful and happy day, one which they didn’t get ever since the war or losing Ruri and Rin to Yuri. The three were purring happily hugging each other and cuddling, still placing kisses on each other as a sign of comfort. Zarc watched his sons with a soft smile, sending his own happy and peaceful emotions at seeing them so close, making the boys relax even more, and drowning further in their happiness they almost fell asleep, but not quite. 

They began talking about their lives growing up in the different dimensions, Yuya’s head lying on Yuto’s chest, while Yugo attaching himself to Yuya’s back. As Yuya talked away about things, mumbling about his Pendulum cards and his first duel with them, Yuto kissing the top of his head, Yugo nuzzling his back when he recalled how his Pendulum monsters attracted potential students but they only cared about the monsters and not Yusho's philosophy about dueling. In return, Yuto and Yugo began talking about their own summoning methods too. Slowly teaching Yuya and each other the ins and outs of how these methods work. The three pulled out their decks, looking at each other’s cards. Upon showing their respective dragons to one another, they could hear the dragon trio roar in excitement of reuniting once more.

Zarc was at peace in that moment, three of his children and three of his dragons reunited, and almost, _ almost _back into his arms. He radiated with a peaceful happy aura and feelings into the bond, affecting the boys, and making them relax more and more, minds going back, back into Father’s embrace, drowning in happy and sweet memories of the past, before all the tragedy, the war, Ray, and the cards she used to destroy them. His boys gave a sigh as love and happiness drowned their minds.

Sometime later, Yoko called the boys down and they reluctantly left the nest. They went down, the three looking ready to fall asleep, their faces holding a smile, their eyes glazed over, their faces the picture of tranquility. The pets whimpered in fear and scattered, sensing something was wrong.

And _ that's _when Yoko noticed something was off.

If there was one thing she learned from binge-watching horror films or shows or staying up at night reading a chapter of a horror novel borrowed from the library when was that children looking so serene without any explanation at all could only mean they were being influenced by some dark and mysterious force. And that dark force already made itself known by how it destroyed her plates and cups...after she showed concern for Yuya and his “doppelgangers”.

So this dark force was very possessive of these boys...as if it saw those boys as its own children.

But that was impossible...that...that can't possibly be happening to her! These situations only happen to oblivious ignorant female protagonists in horror books, films and tv shows. Not in real life...

...

...

... 

Whatever this force was, it was affecting her _ sons _ and she had no idea how to fight back.

Zarc saw the suspicious look Yoko had on her face as she looked into his children’s glazed over eyes and happy smiles. She wasn’t afraid. No, she was surprised, suspicious, angry and in slight denial of the situation in front of her.

She snapped her fingers in front of Yuya’s face, who didn’t react, did not even blink. When she repeated this to Yuto and Yugo, she got the same response. Standing still like soldiers and eyes off in some distant dream. Okay, now this was starting to become _ frightening _.

“Yuya?” she asked, hands on her son’s shoulders. “Yuya, are you okay? What’s going on?!”

En tilted his head and approached the boy, but suddenly started snarling and barking loudly. Yet Yuya still didn’t react, only having a soft smile on his face 

_ Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod!!!! _Yoko thought, looking around for something that she could use to wake them up. Finding the pitcher of water on the table, she grabbed it and dumped its contents all over these boys. Water was well-known to wake people up from trances, after all…

But _ still _the boys were in their trance, despite being soaking wet.

“Yuya? Yuya, sweetheart can you hear me?! Yuto? Yugo?!” Yoko screamed, shaking her son and slapping him with all her might before repeating the process with Yuto and Yugo. “Wake up! Wake up!!!” 

Zarc had had enough for now. So he snapped his fingers, and the three boys flinched, waking up from the trance they were in.

“Uh wah...what?” he asked groaning and rubbing his eyes. “Why am I ...all wet?” he asked as he was soaking. “And why do my cheeks feel sore?”

Yugo and Yuto blinked in surprise looking at their brother not sure of what exactly had just happened. And then they also noticed that they were wet and had sore cheeks too.

Yoko gave a sigh. She had to think about this rationally and not jump into any conclusions, or scare her boys as she thought about her observations. 

First was the coincidence of Yuto and Yugo, both hailing from different dimensions, having the same face as Yuya.

Second was the dark and scary winds that came after she approached them. Specifically after calling them her _ sons _ . The way the boys acted when the darkness attacked could only mean that this dark force was... _ abusive _ towards them.

Third was the trance-like states that she couldn’t wake them out of and En barking madly at them when he was always happy to be picked up by Yuya.

All of this just added up to some supernatural stuff going down. Just what type of supernatural stuff, she wasn’t sure even when you added how close Yuto and Yuya acted at the supermarket or why Yuto and Yugo _ both _ wanted silver bracelets.

Maybe she was just being paranoid, but perhaps she should investigate the gems that they asked for (peridot for Yugo, amethyst for Yuto) tonight. But for now, she didn’t want the Darkness (If it was truly there, and Yoko just became convinced even more and more that it was; after all it never ends well for the skeptic in any media) and she didn’t need to alarm it, or her sons. But they needed to know that they were at least safe with her, if the Darkness ever tried harming them again. 

For example, something she needs to think about is, if she wasn’t the one to wake them up from the trance what did, and why? Why were they in a trance to begin with? 

...The darkness.

The _ darkness _ was the one who put them in a trance and woke them up. Perhaps as a show of dominance in that the _ darkness _ was the one who could truly have these boys and not her? 

Oh. Oh it was _ on _.

“Nothing special, boys,” she said softly smiling tentatively at them before ruffling their hair. “Let’s just have lunch now, okay? And then, maybe I can see you all duel 

“Duel? Oh no, the tournament!” Yuya gasped. “Yuzu is going to freak when she finds out I wasn’t there today.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine without you today,” Yoko replied. “Oh, I haven’t heard anything about Sora the entire morning. I wonder if he’s doing okay? Wouldn’t it be such a surprise if he saw your two brothers. I know how he’s always calling you his ‘sempai’, Yuya. You think he’d be calling Yuto and Yugo ‘sempai’ also if he asked to teach them Xyz and Synchro summoning?”

“NO!!!!” The boys shouted simultaneously, slamming their hands on the table. But Yoko didn’t jump in fear or flinch like any female character would react in a “jumpscare” moment. Yuya not wanting _ Sora _ to interact with his brothers? Even though Sora was so sweet and innocent?

Yeah, something was _ definitely _going on.

  
  


_ “Wait...who’s Sora?” _asked Yugo, waking up from the inner rage from his younger brothers..

Yuya and Yuto replied by sending memories of last night to Yugo along with Yuya’s memories of Sora ‘innocently’ acting like he wanted to be friends. At that last part, it took all of Yuya’s willpower to not go and find Sora to kill him.

Yugo’s eyes widened in shock and fury at his brothers’ memories, his eyes narrowed and gritted his teeth...that little troll, Sora was gonna _ pay _for what he did to his brothers.

“Okay, let’s not talk about Sora Shiunin then,” said Yoko, taking a fork to stab into a boiled potato on her plate. She took a bite out of said potato as she asked, “What about introducing them to Yuzu, Yuya? I mean, it’d be like having -- ”

“**NO!!!!**”

And at that yell, the animals raced out to the backyard via the doggy door. Yoko’s eyes widened and she dropped her fork onto the floor with a clatter. Okay Sora maybe she could understand, maybe, but _ Yuzu Hiragi? _Yuya’s best friend since childhood?

Was that what the trance was about? The darkness placing triggers into their subconscious to _ avoid _ Yuzu and to _ hate _ Sora?

...If that was true, this was definitely messed up. Why did the darkness essentially brainwash her sons? Why did it want them to not be close to those two? And if it was that easy to do something like that, why not avoid Yoko herself? Something wasn’t adding up; what was the darkness’s game here? _ What did it want? _

“So you all are going to avoid Yuzu?” Yoko asked, raising her eyebrow. The three of them looked between each other. 

“No. Well I won’t, but she can’t know about Yuto and Yugo,” Yuya answered.

“And why not?”

“She just...she just _ can’t, _okay?” There were tears in Yuya’s eyes as he said that. “Please mom, if you love me, just trust me when I say that Yuto and Yugo can’t get near her. Or they’ll be...they’ll be…”

...Oh, so that’s how it is.

If the darkness had a hold on Yuto and Yugo and they interacted with Yuzu, perhaps the darkness would lash out at Yuzu next? Was this what it was all about? The darkness was acting crazy because it was about all _ three _ of them. But if it was just Yuya _ alone _ with Yuzu then perhaps the darkness wasn’t as strong.

But if _ that _ was the case, why didn’t this darkness manifest years ago? Yuya was always with Yuzu and not _ once _ did the darkness decided to act all crazy.

So clearly this darkness didn’t want the _ three _ of them near Yuzu. Yes, Yuya said _ they _ but it was clearly more about Yugo and Yuto and not Yuzu herself. But what would happen if they were near her? What would the darkness do to them if they did meet Yuzu? And why _ Yuzu _? 

Clearly there was no way for Yoko to get answers whether by asking them or having Yuzu come to see her (and even then, Yuzu was probably cheering Futoshi on as he faced off against Reira Akaba -- poor thing needed a hug given how he didn’t even smile when he won his match against Ayu days ago). So that was something to keep in mind for now.

Yoko puckered her lips as she used a napkin to pick up her fallen fork and potato, a habit she’s had whenever she was in deep thought about the horror stuff she read or watched. She was definitely going to have to do some research about this from now on.

“All right, Yuya,” she said. “So Yuzu doesn’t get to know about Yuto or Yugo, I promise. But what about the others? Like Shuzo-san, the kids, Gongenzaka? Can _ they _ get to know about your new ‘brothers’ or are they _ also _on the list of ‘Don’t let anyone know about these doppelgangers from a different dimension because by doing so, they’ll be put in danger’?”

“Oh, no, just...just Yuzu, although everyone else would need to accept the whole, you know, four dimesion thing and all,” Yuya answered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. 

“Is there anyone _ else _ from a different dimension that I should know about?”

Yuto’s eyes widened as his mind flashed to Shun. Shun would’ve been watching all of this last night, up to the point Yugo arrived and the security cameras were destroyed. What would Father think of his friend? Would Father lash out at Shun too?

No, not Shun. Not his close friend who has been supporting him on this trip across dimensions to find answers to Ruri’s fate!

“Well?”

“No, no one else we know about,” Yuto lied, shaking his head. “Just Yugo and I as far as we know.”

“And let’s hope it stays that way,” Yoko sighed, reaching for another fork on the dinner table. “Everyone knows that interdimensional travelers always brings about trouble, intentionally or not.”

And as Yoko reached for another potato, she didn’t realize how Yuto looked like the older woman had stabbed him in the heart with that fork.

*************

After lunch, Yuto and Yugo entertained Yoko by dueling in the living room, their cards spread out on the table. Yoko watched in awe at Yuto’s Phantom Knights and the variety of Trap Cards that came with them and Yugo with his toy-like Speedroid monsters.

But then she became suspicious upon seeing their dragons.

So Yuto and Yugo were dimensional counterparts of her son that, not only _ looked _ like him but they _ also _ had a dragon on hand?

And...was it her imagination or were those dragons _ glowing _?

Zarc watched the duel, looking amused and proud of his boys.He kept running his hands in their hair and patting their backs, making them even more happy and relaxed, enjoying their duel more as finally nothing life threatening was happening. They would be dueling for fun, laughing and smiling as if nothing bad happened. Yuto, especially as he hadn’t felt this way in such a long time, even when Yugo won and defeated Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.

(Clear Wing growled an apology to Dark Rebellion about that but Dark Rebellion didn’t mind at all; he was just happy to be with his brothers again)

“That was such a fun duel!” Yuya cheered. He recalled Yuto’s strategies against Sora and the clash with Yugo before Father awakened them, but now he was seeing it full force, and with no pressure fear or anger. And Yugo’s Synchro Summoning was a lot of fun too, even though he already battled against Gongenzaka’s new and improved “Synchro Superheavy Strong Style” as he was going to call it now.

“It certainly was, fun” said Yoko. “Why if you two became teachers at the You Show Duel School, I’m sure Shuzo-san would be screaming at how we obtained more students.”

Yuto froze. You Show...You Show..._ Yusho _?!

“Duel School?” Yugo repeated, gathering the cards back into his deck. “You teach dueling in this dimension?”

“Yes. You Show Duel School was the duel school created by my husband, Yusho Sakaki,” Yoko explained, staring at a framed picture of Yusho and Yuya smiling at the camera hanging on the wall. “He was the pioneer of Action Dueling, believing that duels were all about bringing people together. Or at least...that’s what he thought until he vanished three years ago…”

Yuto felt like he was going to faint. Yusho...Sakaki..._ Yuya Sakaki _…

“Yuto? What’s wrong?” Yuya asked, head turning to his older brother, and Yugo putting a hand on his shoulder.

Yoko narrowed her eyes at the interaction, Yuto’s face hadn’t even changed, he didn’t look afraid or distressed yet both boys had turned to him at the same time without a second thought as if sensing his emotions. Literal empathy between the three of them without even having to ask why.

Of course Yoko herself learned to become attuned to the emotions hidden behind her son’s smile, but there was no way that Yuya could have figured out what was bothering Yuto so quickly if they just met _ last night _. Wasn’t there this thing that twins somehow had telepathic powers or the like? Not just Yuya but Yugo as well, who she was told was from another dimension than that Yuto. 

(Then again it would make more sense if the “twins” were born _in_ _the same dimension!_)

“It’s...nothing,” Yuto answered hastily. “I was just...thinking about the duel school I used to go to back in Heartland...before it got destroyed.” 

Both boys knew it wasn’t that cut and dry but there were always reasons to keep something from them, especially when Yoko was around. So they would wait until Yuto was comfortable enough to tell them. Yugo rubbed Yuto’s shoulder and Yuya squeezed his hand with a soft loving smile. 

And one more thing, that natural physical affection between all three as if they’ve known each other all their lives, the way they slept together, tangled in each other’s arms, the way Yuto nuzzled to Yuya in the supermarket and now, the two of them comforting Yuto so sweetly and naturally, things just didn’t add up to her. Was this a side-effect to the darkness?

Ugh. She needed to get her mind out of this for the time being before she felt like her brain blows up like fireworks!

“I see,” said Yoko, nodding her head. “Well, you don’t have to tell us now. Today is a happy day and all.

Yuto looked at Yoko and nodded his head. “Thank you.”

“Now then, what do you want to do next?” she asked. “I have an awesome collection of horror stuff for us to watch!”

“NO MOM!” Yuya cried, hiding his face behind a pillow.

“Is something wrong?” asked Yugo as he saw Yoko approach a bookshelf and began searching for DVDs.

“My mom just loves watching horror films and shows for some odd reason,” Yuya answered. ”She also would keep taking over the movie like she has her own commentary show.” 

“Hmm...aha!” said Yoko, pulling out a DVD. “Who wants to watch _ The Haunting Hour _?”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” said Yuto.

“Perfect,” said Yoko, opening the case and looking at the contents. “Hmm, _ Night of the Mummy _ sounds good!”

“Sure...mummies…” said Yuya. “What could possibly be so scary about them?”

***************

Twenty-two minutes, three bags of popcorn and a couple of sodas later, the boys were utterly silent.

One was on the verge of tears, one was breathing hard, one had a twitchy eye. But they were all holding each other’s hands to comfort one another.

As the DVD was back to the episode guide, Yoko muted the television to look at the three of them. Yes, the ending to the episode was very depressing (not as bad as “My Imaginary Friend” or “Toy Train” -- those two ended up with her crying for a while) but she wasn’t expecting the episode to have that much of an impact on them all. Even Yuya had had a different reaction from the first time he saw it (which was to shiver in fright at the idea of the main character to deciding to essentially _ commit suicide _ and all while leaving his close friend with the amulet to remember him by when she finally joined him in the afterlife). 

“So…” Yoko began, turning to Yuto and Yugo. “What did you think? About Seth’s decision to join his brother in the afterlife?”

The three boys looked between themselves and then, to Yoko’s small shock, scooched over and hugged each other tightly with tears in their eyes. 

“The brothers...just wanted to reunite for all eternity,” whispered Yuto, soft like a bird’s wing flapping in the night. “There was no other way for them to do so…”

“Boys?” Yoko asked, tilting her head. 

“They were separated, they felt so _ empty _…” Yugo added, his voice distant and soft just like Yuto’s. “They had no one to understand them, no one to help them...they were waiting...for so long…”

“Boys…?”

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the _ best _ episode to show them (maybe “Funhouse” or “Uncle Howee” should’ve worked? “Afraid of Clowns” would’ve been funnier but then again she didn’t know if Yuto or Yugo had a clown phobia…)

“They needed to feel whole again…” Yuya whispered, his pendulum shining brightly. Just as bright as the smile on his face. “They had to reunite...as one…”

“There were...other choices, Yuya…” Yoko replied, not liking how those words sounded from her son’s own mouth.

“Not to them,” Yuto stated. “That was his brother…”

“The other half of his soul,” Yugo added. “There was only one thing that had to be done…they had to reunite.”

“Reunite…” Yuto repeated.

“Reunite as one…” Yuya finished.

The three boys’ grabbed each other's hands squeezing them tight, their eyes glowing cyan, crimson and lavender like gems shining under a bright light, their mouths only saying that one word. _ “Reunite, reunite, reunite, reunite…” _

Yoko could feel her heart pounding in her chest like she was at a summer festival and someone was banging on a _ taiko _drum. Deep, foreboding, telling her that something was coming.

Okay, that did it. There was something dark and malevolent and it involved all three of them and she _ had to stop it now _!

Glowing eyes and eerie chanting...she can handle this. The boys were _ definitely _ under the darkness’ control; there was no other reason for the chanting and the eerie glowing eyes. She can think over that later and what it could mean to “Reunite”; for now she just wanted her boys to be safe and snap out of it!

“Okay! Listen! Darkness or whatever you are…” Yoko snarled, hands clenched into fists as she looked for a suitable weapon. As the three boys kept their chants (“Reunite, reunite, reunite”) she lifted her head to the ceiling and screamed, “Stop playing around with these boys. I know you have _ some _ control over them, but you need to stop this...please! Please just snap them out of _ this _! You’re hurting them!”

** _...Am I?_ **

Disembodied voices replying to Yoko? Okay that’s it! 

“Look I don’t know what you want with these boys, but I am NOT going to let you hurt them, I don’t care who or what you are but this has gone too _ far! _Show yourself! Right now!”

At this point, Yoko should’ve slapped herself. Taunting the supernatural entity? One of the top things you DON’T do in these situations unless you actually are prepared to fight them!

** _Very well, Yoko-san...if you insist!_ **

At that, the chanting stopped, and Yoko saw some sort of...shadow attack her. The last thing she remembered before she fell to the floor in shock was that she knew exactly what to call that voice.

_ That...bastard! _

*************

Yoko groaned as her eyes fluttered open, only to meet the worried eyes and faces of her three boys.

  
  


“Mom! Are you okay?” Yuya asked, worried.

Yoko sat up and shook her head. She took a glance at her surroundings; she was currently in her bedroom. A part of her felt guilty that her sons had to carry her up the stairs so she could rest. “I think I will be. I don’t think you’re going to believe me when I said I had this nightmare about you three...all with glowing eyes and chanting ‘Reunite’ like a bunch of zombies. I mean, could you imagine?” 

“You might have hit your head too hard Yoko-san, you fainted in the living room all of a sudden,” Yuto said.

“We were so worried,” Yugo added and the other two nodded. The three of them _ actually _looked worried about her.

“Did I? That doesn’t seem like me at all,” she said tilting her head, already a bit too suspicious of the situation no matter how genuine the worry was in the boys’ eyes. 

“Must have been a dry spell or something,” Yuto suggested. 

“Yeah maybe,” she sighed looking at her watch, “It’s getting pretty late boys, you should get some rest,” she said, ruffling their hair. 

The boys smiled and nodded before Yuya hugged Yoko, the other two staying back a bit awkwardly. 

“Good night,” she said, giving Yuya a kiss on the cheek. “And sweet dreams to all of you.”

“Good night,” Yuya replied as he lead his brothers out of the bedroom. Yoko waved goodbye as she saw Yugo close the door behind her…

Where his and Yuto’s silver bracelets seemed to wink at her from the dark, the gem shining faintly. 

Yoko narrowed her eyes as she waited for the boys to walk back to Yuya’s room, where they would return to the little ‘nest’ on the floor and snuggle and sigh and cuddle and whatever they were planning on doing! Normally she’d find a thing to be so adorable. Now she feels like she wanted someone to pull her teeth out.

Yoko laid back, head hitting a pillow. She could only hope that _ that Bastard _would not harm them more than they already did. The sight of her sons chanting and those glowing eyes was more than enough proof to tell her that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

Now she had to think about this. In that episode, it was the _brothers _being separated by time and the word _reunite _that triggered such reactions from her boys. Three boys with the same face, with the mystical desire to reunite no matter the cost, all of them wielding dragons that didn’t seem to fit the other monsters of their decks, leading them towards a dark destiny that might consume their souls. And that _Bastard _that she was possessing them was one of two things, either the guardian that was meant to lead the boys into that Dark destiny, or the monster that would end up consuming their souls. 

Which means that Yoko needed to do some research in regards to any prophecies that may have to relate to her boys and, despite going against the logical choice, keep this to herself until she’s ready to confront this _ Bastard _head on.

_ If this is how you’re going to play it, fine. _ Yoko thought, reaching for the bedside lamp and turning it on. _ I’m not going to fall for your tricks that easily. And I’m gonna free Yuya, Yuto and Yugo from your possessive grip. I promise. _

And in the darkness, Zarc chuckled to himself. This woman was much more fun than he expected.She was strong, fierce, protective, intelligent and _ beautiful _. With the proper nudging, she would be a perfect warrior to fight off against the forces of Academia and that professor.

At that thought, he licked his fangs. Yoko Sakaki would give him the best fun he had in ages!

** _Very well, Yoko Sakaki..._ ** Zarc thought to himself as he watched Yoko doing research on her phone. ** _Although, I hate to say this. No wait, I don’t but..._ **

With another chuckle, he sighed and added. ** _The game was won before it even begun._ **

Leaving the foolish woman in her pathetic hunt to find nothing that could stop him, Zarc returned to his boys in their room and smiled at them, once again tangled in each other sleeping soundly. His phantom hands ran through their hair, and softly touched their faces, his mental touch caressing their minds lovingly. His treasures belonged to only him, they love him above all else, and if they wanted or desired something, why shouldn’t he give it to them? It only meant his children loved him even more for it. And after all, it would only mean that whatever they own, also belonged to Zarc. That’s the way it’s always been, so why change that now? 

Zarc chuckled, weaving a sweet dream and memories in his children’s mind. The boys gasped and shuddered slightly before the smiles returned on their faces. Zarc smiled and placed one more kiss on their foreheads for good measure. 

** _I’ll see you soon, my treasures. _ **

And with that, the Supreme Dragon King’s presence faded from the world for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoko VS Zarc in child custody dispute, who would win?
> 
> GPQ: Trust us, this actually becomes important in the future.


	3. Chapter 3: The plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zarc starts his plan to bring Rin and Ruri back, and Yuto desires Shun to be his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my now co-author Green_Phantom_Queen who was an amazing and awesome help with this chapter!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy! Tags added.

When Yuya opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings, one thought came into his mind. 

The room was...huge. 

No, huge was an understatement. 

This room would fit his own _ house _in it. It had a high ceiling, several crystal chandeliers hanging in the middle of it that shined and sparkled, giving the room a soft glow. The floor tiles made of marble, so white, Yuya could almost see his own reflection in it. Giant windows, with the creamy curtains pulled aside showed a scenery of a beautiful forest. 

A red carpet that reached the end of the room ended on a huge dais, where a throne made of gold sat, decorated by gems and crystals that sparkled and shone. On top of it crowned a white gem like the North Star. On each of its side were two smaller thrones; the first on its right was decorated with amethysts, the one beside it decorated with rubies, the one on his left decorated by sky blue crystals and the last one was encrusted with pink spinel. The five were half hidden by curtains that were red as blood, casting shadows inside. He knew this room somehow... 

_ The throne room, _ he realized, and blinked a few times. How exactly did he know that?

"Y-Yuya?" 

Yuya heard Yuto’s voice, looking around for his brother only to have Yuto place place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Yuto stood on his left while Yugo flanked him on the right.

"This place… " said the red eyed boy, the wonder in his voice was clear, and so were in Yugo and Yuto's, as the three looked around. 

"This is…this was home," said Yuto, not understanding why he said it. But it was true. This used to be home, somehow… their home. A memory of a black castle with several towers looking as if it was trying to pierce the heavens, people walking around cleaning or serving, and four boys always in the presence of a man, a man they all loved and adored... 

"Indeed it is," a voice replied, and the boys gasped. Descending from the center throne -- and Yuya had no idea how he hadn't noticed him there before -- was a man, hair silver as winter moonlight, highlighted by green strands that framed his face. He wore white pants, a black open tunic that showed his bare chest, and a grey cape that was held together by a golden chain. 

“Father,” Yuya breathed out in wonder, seeing the loving smile on Zarc’s face, arms open wide as he walked towards the three of them. The three brothers ran to him, hugging him tight. Zarc embraced them in return, and each boy has their eyes closed, feeling happiness, safety and tranquility in their father’s arms as if nothing would ever hurt them again. 

“My precious treasures,” Zarc whispered. One of his hands moved to Yugo’s cheek and caressed it softly, the blue haired boy closed his eyes in bless and gave a sigh, pressing his cheek into that touch. 

And then, before anyone could figure out how it happened, the four suddenly found themselves in the garden under one of the trees, its beautiful flowers blooming, black petals falling down on the green grass like ash. Numerous plants filled the garden, for as far as one could see -- the flowers, the bushes, even the dark corners in the garden that they always found their Yuri tending to his favorite plants with glee. 

Yuya was now sitting in his Father’s lap, head resting on Father's chest, as the man ran his hand through Yuya’s hair gently, his cape now gone and he was in his half draconic state, obsidian wings tucked. Zarc smiled lovingly and adoringly at his sons, fangs sharp and yet they only made the three boys feel safer. 

Yuto and Yugo were on each side of him and Father. Father’s other hand was wrapped around Yuto’s waist, his green and black tail wrapped itself around Yugo. The three of them looked so peaceful and happy, as small moments and memories of their old lives came back to them, dancing behind their eyes. Moments of Father and all of them along with their dragons in the castle, or in their rooms where they sometimes slept together, and cuddled, exchanging kisses and hugs. 

But despite these happy memories in the past and present, Yuya noticed someone missing. “Where’s our lily? Where’s Yuri?” he whispered, nuzzling his Father’s chest. 

Their father hummed, his smile dimming for a moment. “I could not retrieve him yet." Yuya looked slightly crestfallen, causing Zarc to send thoughts of reassurance into his youngest son's mind. "But don’t worry my Shooting Star, we’ll reunite with him soon, I promise,” he whispered, kissing Yuya’s nose, which made the little boy giggle, hugging his father tighter and cuddling more to him. The silver haired man cooed at the action lovingly. 

“This isn’t real, is it?” Yuto asked softly, not wanting to admit it. “It’s...only a dream.” 

Their father chuckled, running a hand through Yuto’s hair, scratching his scalp expertly, making the other boy purr and curl up against his father more. “That’s right, my little Phantom. This is merely a shared dream. It is the best I can do at the moment,” he whispered, kissing Yuto’s ear. 

The black and purple haired boy whined, eyes closed nuzzling to father more. “Papa~,” he said with a happy sigh, Father chuckled.

Yugo nuzzled his father’s other side. He had never felt this secure before back in his dimension. “I wish this dream would never end,” he said with a sigh, and his brothers couldn’t help but agree. 

“Oh? But my beautiful Crystal,” said the silver haired man, his attention on his second oldest, “You must. Simply to make this beautiful dream of ours a reality once more,” he whispered to Yugo, he ran his nails through the boy's hair, and kissed his forehead softly. “Remember? This used to be our life, but we must reunite in reality, my loves.” 

“Reunite,” Yugo breathed out. The same word was spoken by his brothers. 

“Yes my Crystal,” Zarc whispered, Yugo had a dreamy smile on his face, eyes half closed, his father’s hand slid from his hair to his cheek, making Yugo humm happily. 

All three of them hugged their father tightly as more memories came about, happy and sad. Memories of their family being together, playing in this very garden, riding their beautiful dragons…

And of the first war between the humans and the spirits. 

As these memories slowly began to resurface, they clung to their father even tighter. For Yuto, however, it had the worst effect, as the boy began shaking uncontrollably, tears forming in the corners of his eyes when he recalled the destruction of Heartland.

“Yuto,” their father whispered in concern. He removed Yuya from his lap putting him in Yugo’s. The older brother happily took Yuya in his arms, stroking the red eyed boy’s face and kissing his chin. Yuya purred and rubbed their noses together, but looked in concern at Yuto. 

Zarc took Yuto into his lap and cradled him in his arms, kissing his forehead, cheeks and eyelids, Yuto couldn’t help but cling to his father even more, rubbing his face in the man’s chest, burying his face there, taking all the comfort he could get, that Zarc happily gave his precious sons. “Yuto darling, talk to Papa, what’s wrong, my little Specter?” He asked softly, with one hand pressing Yuto to him and the other running through Yuto’s hair. 

“I don’t...I don’t want to lose anyone, papa,” Yuto sniffled. “I...it’s constant, the war in Heartland, the wars that we went through. I don’t...I don’t want to lose any of you again! I can’t, but...but I also can’t lose Ruri and Shun either! And if they knew the truth about who we really are, they’ll reject me! I don’t want that...I want to...I want to keep them. I wanna make them mine! They are ** _mine_ **! I never wanna lose them ever again or...or....” 

Zarc couldn’t help but smirk, pleased at Yuto’s words, his true nature coming out as more memories returned, blending in with the new ones. However Yuto being sad just wouldn’t do; only smiles belonged on his sons’ beautiful faces. 

Zarc kissed Yuto's forehead, gently grabbing the boy's chin, making his son meet his eyes, his own power and influence over his children growing like a flower in spring. “Yes my darling, yours, so make them _ yours _,” he whispered.

“Make... them...mine?” Yuto asked, eyes widening.

Zarc's hand caressed his cheek, feelings of glee and pride emanating from him. He licked his sharp fangs In anticipation. “It is your _ birthright _, my darling, my prince of Xyz, my Yuto. The more you remember, the more you will realize that, and you’ll easily know how to keep them. Do not worry yourself, precious.”

“Remember…” Yuto repeated, eyes glazing over as he kept staring at his father’s beautiful glowing golden eyes, feeling peace and trust and love filling his body from head to toe. “And then they’ll be mine? Forever?” he asked with a dreamy smile on his lips. 

Zarc chuckled. "_Forever _, my Darling."

This was hardly a command. Zarc had no guarantee that Yuto would do anything, but the seeds were planted into his mind, and they would bloom soon enough. Yuto did not have to worry about En-Birds; she would be theirs soon enough along with En-Winds. His children would fully regain their true nature soon enough, and his family would reunite once more when he is resurrected. 

Now all that’s left is Yuri, and with Leo Akaba wanting all of Ray’s parts gathered, he’ll come for Yuzu Hiragi soon enough...and that’s when his plan would truly begin. 

He kissed Yuto’s forehead once more, and hugged the other two closer to them, his wings unfurled before covering his children lovingly in a shroud of everloving and everlasting darkness. Zarc could taste it, vengeance, victory. Soon.

Very soon. 

****************

Yuya was the first to wake up, whining at losing the sweet dream that they were in. He groaned as he tried to get up and look around, but found himself unable to move very much. Yugo and Yuto were wrapped around him securely. He smiled, moving closer to Yuto’s face and nudged him gently with his nose, all Yuto did was mumble unintelligibly in response, and bury his face in Yuya’s neck. The younger boy giggled and turned to his other brother, clinging to him as well. 

Yuya nudged Yugo, the boy with golden crested bangs hummed nuzzling Yuya face half asleep, with a big smile on his face, Yuya nuzzled Yugo’s face in return, purring in delight, making his brother respond with his own pleased purr. The atmosphere seemed to have the opposite effect of what Yuya wanted from Yuto, as the black and purple haired boy now had a peaceful smile on his face and seemed to have fallen completely asleep again thanks to his brothers’ happy sounds. 

Yugo finally opened his eyes after a minute or two, before looking at Yuya trying to wake Yuto up. The Xyz user simply refused to open his eyes. Yugo grinned mischievously to himself before untangling his arms from Yuya and rolling over his little brother so he was now beside Yuto instead. The blue eyed boy came closer to Yuto’s face and licked a trail up Yuto’s cheek playfully. 

The desired effect was achieved as Yuto’s eyes shot up with a little yelp, grey eyes glared at the grinning boy before tackling him to the floor, rolling around in the nest, Yuto growling disapprovingly at Yugo. Yuya giggled in response to the two of them and watched in amusement. He let the two playfight go on for a few more seconds, before literally jumping in, and ended up lying on both older boys’ chests.

Yuto and Yugo smiled up at Yuya, before Yuto ran his hand through the Pendulum duelist's hair. Yuya reluctantly got off of both of them before he stared at the time on his clock. “I gotta get ready,” he said with a small sigh. “I’ve been absent all day yesterday. Yuzu, Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya must be worried. Heh, I’ll definitely get hit by Yuzu’s _ harisen _that’s for sure,” he rubbed the back of his head before rummaging through his closet.

Just as he was about to pick out his shirt, he heard two growls from behind which made him freeze. Yuya looked back to see both his brothers were frowning; he had almost forgotten how protective his family was for one another, especially him. He merely smiled and shook his head, then walked back towards the other two. He gently laid his hands on their faces, and started caressing their cheeks lovingly. “It’s just a joke,” he said with a giggle, “No need to worry,” he whispered soothingly. Both boys’ eyes were half closed at Yuya’s touch gaining a dopey smile on their faces. 

Yuya smiled happily at the two’s reaction to his touch, as both seemed to have forgotten his comment about Yuzu. He turned around again and looked through his clothes before choosing his usual attire. 

Yuto sighed and stood up. “I need to go look for Shun too. He must be worried.” The dark haired boy rummaged through the clothes Yoko had bought for him tucked in a black paper bag. He had a sense of gratefulness, embarrassment and guilt over the woman buying him all of that especially since Yuto was just a stranger, and not her own son, no matter how many times she and Yuya told him it was okay. Minutes later, he was now dressed in a grey T-shirt that matched his eyes, a jacket that he, like Yuya, put around his shoulder transforming into a make-shift cape, black pants with a matching belt, along with grey combat boots. He also wore his usual belt choker around his neck and a pair of leather cuffs over his wrists. 

“So...What can I do today?” asked Yugo with a tilt of his head. The other two glanced at Yugo and then at each other. 

“Well, you can’t come with me,” Yuya said with a small frown. “Father said you two can’t go near Yuzu.”

Yugo pouted and gave a sigh. Yuto crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking of a solution before it came to him. “I need to tell Shun that we have an ally in you and Yuya now,” he suggested with a bright smile on his face. “You can drive me to where Shun and I will agree to meet!” 

Yugo grinned widely and jumped excitedly at having something to do, before running and jumping around the room, looking for something to wear as well. He would have preferred his riding suit, but it wasn’t finished drying yet, so he had to wear something else. Instead, he settled with what Yoko bought him: a yellow shirt with a turtleneck, white form fitting pants and a midriff white jacket. 

With them dressed for the day, the brothers slid down the pole into the kitchen, and each were happy with the pancakes that Yoko had made for them. The three of them thanked her and ate, Yuto and Yuya eating like normal people, while Yugo kept stuffing his face like he’s never gonna eat something like it again. 

(All while Yoko made careful observations and found them to not be acting as strange as they were yesterday.)

After breakfast was over, Yuya waved goodbye to his brothers and sprinted off to the You Show Duel school. Yugo and Yuto waved back before they went to the garage to pick up Yugo’s D-Wheel. Yugo wasted no time placing his helmet on before tossing Yuto the extra one...which was bright pink and only reminded Yuto of Yuzu.

Yuto gave his older brother a dead-pan look. “Nope,” was his answer before throwing the helmet back at Yugo with the same dead-pan expression on his face. 

“Oh, fine, fine, take caution to the wind then,” he joked with a grin. Yuto rolled his eyes good naturally, smiling. “Just tell me where to go,” said the blue eyed boy, sitting on his D-wheel. Yuto sat behind him and wrapped his arms around Yugo’s waist before guiding him on where to go.

And with no time to waste, the D-Wheel sped off in the opposite direction that Yuya was heading to.

****************

It felt nice, it felt so incredibly nice, and peaceful and oh so _ wonderful _. 

Yuto tightened his hold on Yugo from behind, and rested his head on Yugo’s back, feeling peace and tranquility as they moved through the streets, the wind brushing against them, as they moved so fast. It felt like...it felt like flying. No wonder Yugo loved this so much, it felt so wonderful and familiar. Not to mention the subtle aura of peace and happiness coming from Yugo which was affecting Yuto highly, making him relax. He let out a happy sigh, nuzzling Yugo’s back, which made the feeling of happiness intensify in Yugo, and subsequently in Yuto. 

It felt far too soon when they reached the coordinates of where Shun and Yuto had agreed to meet -- an abandoned garage for fixing cars -- and Shun was already there...looking pissed off at who Yuto brought along with him, duel disk at the ready. 

“So...you’re here, Pawn of Fusion,” he said, narrowing his golden eyes at the one riding the D-Wheel. 

And as usual Yugo exploded at the mention of that nickname. The D-wheel screeched to a halt, nearly causing Yuto fall off, and Yugo activated his duel disk in response. 

“It’s not Fusion, it’s Yugo!” the blue eyed boy yelled and was about to summon his faithful dragon to deal with this utter fool who would label him with such a title. A series of cold winds stormed around them, but Yuto yelled from behind them.

“Oi! That’s enough!” He said and got off of the D-wheel and stood in front of it between Yugo and Shun, slightly glaring at the latter.

“Yu-Yuto?” Shun asked in shock. He had never seen Yuto glare at him like that before. And when did he have time to obtain a new pair of clothes?! “Wha-”

“He’s not a part of the Fusion Dimension, Shun. His _ name _ is Yugo,” Yuto clarified, pointing at Yugo with his thumb over his shoulder.

“That’s what I’ve been saying this entire time!” The Synchro user yelled from behind Yuto, waving his fists in the air. Yuto ignored him, and Shun just looked too shocked to respond at first. 

“Didn’t he attack you?” Shun finally asked, confused. 

“Yeah, I thought he was Yuri,” Yugo said calmly. Now getting off his D-wheel and removing his helmet, finally showing Shun his face. Shun’s eyes widened briefly; now there was _ another _ boy who had a face similar to Yuto? He quickly shook the surprise off though; that wasn’t important right now.

“Yuri?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Someone else with the same face as us,” Yuto explained. “At the park last night, Yuya got us to stop fighting, and we actually talked about what was going on. Yugo’s friend, Rin, who has the same face as Ruri, was taken too, and he was looking for Yuri. When he landed in our dimension, he mistook Yuri for me and attacked.” 

It wasn’t a total lie, and Yuto could stretch the truth as to not explain what actually happened. But Shun still wasn’t convinced.

“Yugo’s from the Synchro dimension, and he and Yuya are happy to help us find Ruri,” Yuto said with a small smile. Yugo nodded with a wide grin on his face. It looked far too earnest to Shun; he actually had the urge to believe the boy with Yuto’s face... 

But he did believe Yuto though, and he seems to actually be sure of what he was talking about. 

He thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Yuto, can we talk for a moment, alone?” he asked before pointing at the open door to the garage. Yuto nodded immediately, but before he could take one step something made the raven haired boy glance at this “Yugo”, they exchanged a look, as if they were having a silent conversation. After a second or two, the blue eyed boy sighed and sat back on his bike. Yuto motioned for Shun to go on and the two of them walked inside the building.

  
  


****************

From within the building, Zarc couldn’t help but observe just what his little shadow was planning. He purred in delight and sent waves of pride towards Yuto, invisible hands ran unseen through Yuto's hair, and the boy suppressed a shudder in delight while focusing on Shun.

The older boy turned towards his closest friend. “How do we know that this Yugo can be trusted?” Shun questioned. “This could be nothing more than a set-up.”

“What would make you think that?” Yuto asked, wanting to lash out and only held back because he didn’t want to send Shun the wrong message. He relaxed his body, Father silently guiding him to keep his possessiveness and protectiveness for Yugo hidden as to not alarm Shun. What Yuto was doing was excellent. Zarc thought that Yuto simply needed a bit more control over his feelings, he wasn't used to suppress them when it came to his brothers after all. 

Shun frowned, still sensing something was wrong. "You're acting weird," he stated. "First, you disappear for an entire day. Second, it takes you this morning to contact me about your safety. And third, you come back not only in new clothes but with someone who had been constantly attacking us. It's just a little too suspicious to believe that this person is going to be fighting alongside us, Yuto! He has the same face as this ’Yuri’ that took my sister...how can we know that this Pawn of Fusion..."

(And here, it _ really _ takes all of Yuto’s concentration to not bite Shun’s throat for that)

“Is on our side and not some sort of spy for Academia?!” Shun asked, with a ferocious snarl like a cornered lion.

Yuto didn't break their eye contact, grey eyes practically boring into golden eyes that could never, _ ever _ replicate the love and peaceful feelings that shone in Father’s eyes.. "Do you trust me, Shun?" Yuto asked, and the older boy seemed somewhat startled at that question. 

"Wha- I, of course I trust you," Shun said with a small glare, not sure what his old friend was getting at. 

Yuto smirked, eyes lowered halfway as he started slowly walking closer to Shun, and the older boy couldn't help but ask himself _ "Since when did Yuto have fangs?" _

And before he could say anything else, Yuto's hands landed on Shun's chest and pushed him towards the wall, the lavender haired boy pressed his body to Shun's.

“Y...Yuto!” Shun gasped, not used to having his personal space being invaded like this. “What the hell? What’s going on?!”

Yuto chuckled, running his tongue across the tip of those...fangs, grey eyes glowing like storm clouds filled with lightning that was about to be unleashed.

“If you trust me, then you wouldn’t mind if I did...this, correct?” Yuto purred into Shun’s ear.

Shun struggled to push Yuto off of him, but as he did, he did not see what Yuto saw…

He saw the shadowy figure of Father take over Shun’s shadow and clamp his hands over Shun’s body and run them over the skin of Shun’s neck. More shadows wrapped around Shun’s biceps like vines as Yuto heard specific instructions from Father as to make Shun more...willing to cooperate.

Yuto's hand caressed Shun's cheek, before grasping his chin and forcing him to look into Yuto's eyes again. The boy smirked, fangs on display. 

"Shh, now. No need to fight this," he whispered soothingly to Shun, stormy eyes glowing, and in turn Shun's yellow ones widen with shock and fear. Yuto shushed him once more, pressing closer. "Calm down Shun, it's just me," he whispered. It took a few more seconds but slowly Shun's eyes began to glaze over, and he began to relax. 

"That's it, Shun, you're doing such a good job,” Yuto cooed, running a hand through Shun’s teal hair. Shun smiled softly at the touch and practically lifted his head to get a better feel of Yuto’s hand on his head. “Just relax for me, that's it," he whispered and kissed Shun's chin softly. "Don't fear the shadows, Shun. They will protect us, guard us, and _love us_ _for all eternity_…” 

Shun couldn't talk, all he could do was nod his head, which made Yuto smile. "Trust in me, Shun. In every word I say, in every move I make. I am guided well," he ran a claw like finger gently down Shun's cheek, loving how Shun shuddered at the touch. "And trust in Yugo and Yuya as if they were me. Understood Shun?" He asked softly, and again Shun nodded. 

“I...understand..” Shun replied with a sigh. His voice sounded distant and empty despite the smile on his face.

"Good," whispered the boy satisfied. The shadows released Shun, but the boy stayed pressed against the wall by Yuto's body, any resistance that the older boy had had was all but forgotten. Yuto caressed Shun's cheek softly and pressed closer. "And with this," he whispered, inches away from Shun's lips. "You are mine, forevermore." 

He placed a kiss on Shun’s lips, as if sealing a sacred contract between the two. Shun would no longer show hesitance towards his brothers. And soon enough, he won’t ever have to worry about following orders from Father too. Seconds later, Yuto broke the kiss, licking his lips in satisfaction at his accomplishment.

“Now then,” said Yuto, feeling Father praise him for what he had done. He groaned as ghost-like hands pressed on his shoulders as he still had his body pressed onto Shun’s, making a mental note to have Shun’s resistance weakened whenever the Raidraptor duelist ever made physical contact with Yuto, Yugo or Yuya. “Tell me_ everything _ that you learned from Reiji Akaba…” he whispered to Shun's ear, chuckling before placing a few soft kisses on Shun's neck, making him shudder.

****************

Yugo was absolutely _ bored _.

He had been waiting for what seemed like an hour -- it was really fifteen minutes according to his Duel Disk -- to see what was so important for Yuto to discuss in private with his “friend”. The same friend who kept calling him ‘Fusion’ _ just because _ his name sounded similar to it.

The only thing stopping him from going after Shun was the shared memories Yuto had of Shun, who was the older brother of Ruri. Hurting Shun would hurt Ruri and that would in turn, hurt Yuto. The last thing he needed was to make Yuto sad; Shun and Ruri were the family he made in the new life and he would do _ anything _ to keep them by his side.

Yugo could understand that feeling; he’d move mountains if it meant having Rin by his side.

Rin...how foolish he was to not go after Rin. And how foolish to think that Yuto was the enemy. No, he can’t make that mistake again. He had to focus on getting Rin back. She was out there, waiting for him. Yugo knew that she could be pretty strong when she needed to, but for how long? How long would it be until he reunited with her once more?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps approach him. Yugo turned around to see Yuto walking towards him, a smile on his face.

“How did it go?” asked Yugo, somewhat apprehensive. 

Yuto smiled as he turned around, a proud smirk on his face. “I just made Shun understand that he can trust you and Yuya. Isn’t that correct?”

The older boy just nodded, his signature glare firmly on his face, but Shun seemed more… relaxed around the two, which was a good sign. Yugo had felt Father's powers being used but he was told to stay put by him, and Yugo obeyed as usual. 

“I dunno,” said Yugo, eyeing Shun suspiciously. He didn’t like that hawk-like gaze of Shun Kurosaki at all. “If I ever hear him call me ‘Pawn of Fusion’, I swear I -- “

“I promise to make sure that never happens, if that is what you ask for, Yugo” Shun answered curtly. His golden glare was still there, but his voice sounded...clipped, emotionless, robotic.

The Synchro counterpart blinked when Shun had called his name right. "Yes. Um very good…” He then turned to Yuto and whispered, “What did you do?" All while raising an eyebrow at the massive change that had just occurred in Shun’s attitude.

Yuto chuckled as slipped his hand into Shun’s. If Yugo didn’t know any better, it looked like Shun...sighed at the sign of contact.

“Father helped me ‘tame’ him,” Yuto answered. “Anything either of us, or even Yuya says, he will believe in. And he told us everything we needed to know about his undercover work against Reiji Akaba.”

Yugo tilted his head to the side. “Reiji?”

Yuto sighed; of course Yugo would have no idea who Reiji was. “Shun, can you please explain what Reiji Akaba has told you?”

Shun nodded his head, giving a brief summary of what he was asked to do: how he dueled three of the Leo Institute of Dueling’s best students in order to attract Reiji’s, the son of Professor Akaba attention. Reiji was also against the ideas of Professor Akaba invading the other dimensions and offered a truce between him and Shun if he participated in the Arc League Championship.

Moreover, he had also told Shun about his overall plan to create an elite group of duelists called the Lancers. These duelists would venture into the other dimensions and stop all of Academia’s evil and that the tournament in itself was simply a way to choose who would be accepted into the Lancers division. Reiji was also confident that forces from Academia would arrive to cause trouble after Sora -- a spy from Academia who pretended to be Yuya’s friend, causing Yugo to want Sora’s head on a pike for betraying Yuya’s good heart -- was forcibly returned to the Fusion Dimension after Yuya learned of the destruction of Heartland.

Yugo nodded his head with each and every word said. It didn’t sound like Shun was lying about any of this at all.

“Thank you for cooperating,” said Yuto, placing a kiss on Shun’s cheek. Shun nodded his head in reply, not reacting to the kiss at all.

“So...how exactly does this help us?” Yugo questioned. “Reiji is the son of that _ bastard _ who -- “

** _Patience, my shining crystal..._ ** Zarc hissed in Yugo’s ear, while an invisible hand ran down the boy's cheek gently, relaxing him and making him take a deep breath. ** _Perhaps we can use Reiji’s plans for our own needs..._ **

_ "What are you planing Father?" _Yugo asked, tilting his head. "Can we truly trust him? He's an Akaba after all," Yugo asked out loud.

** _But he does not know about me. _ ** Zarc answers. ** _We can also use Shun to obtain information that can be used to bring Ruri and Rin back to you. Or, perhaps we can make Reiji a little _ ** **pawn** ** _ of our own design…_ **

“_ What do you mean?” _asked Yugo.

** _That foolish Akaba thinks he controls the strings. He thinks that he can get away with covering his tracks and using others to do his bidding. Ha! He is no better than his father._ **

** _But we are. We can play his game, pretending to be a part of these “Lancers” until we reach our true goal. _ **

_ "Our true goal is to bring you back," _Yuto thought back, joining the mental conversation 

** _Yes, but I also intend for Leo Akaba to _ ** **suffer** ** _, for him to lose every last bit of hope in him to bring back his daughter, to see whatever light destroyed as I take _ ** **everything from him.** ** _ All his work would be for nothing. You three galavanting in the dimensions, gathering allies and crushing more and more of Leo Akaba's forces, these are good enough steps. _ **

_ “All while Reiji foolishly lead his troops to slaughter.” _Yuto said, understanding just what Father was getting at.

** _Exactly. Oh, it will be oh so _ ** **satisfying ** ** _to see that man’s face when I have his _ ** **son** ** _ killed in front of his eyes! Or, even better, to have Reiji Akaba _ ** **kill his own father where he stands! ** ** _In his desire to bring back one of his beloved children, the son that he neglected will be the one that will send him to the afterlife! And there, Leo Akaba will be forced to pay for his selfishness, his stupidity and his apathy towards everyone else that isn’t named Ray. _ **

** _How DARE HE make my sons cry! And how DARE he makes our precious lily into his puppet. _ **

** _Leo Akaba will pay. With. his. Life._ **

** _And I will be brought back, a proverbial middle finger to what Leo strived to do with his precious daughter. We will bring harmony to the dimensions and rule over them without anyone opposing our reign. No one will ever separate us again._ **

Yugo felt visions swarm in his head. Visions of him, Yuto and Yuya traveling through the Synchro, Xyz and Fusion dimensions, defeating all of Academia’s soldiers in their paths. Him reuniting with Rin -- with Rin probably asking what took him so long before wrapping her arms around him and the two of them entering the Friendship Cup and defeating Jack Atlas, using their hard-earned victory to destroy the divide between Tops and Commoners so Yugo can become the true Prince of the Synchro Dimension. 

There was Yuto, Ruri and Shun reunited together once more, promising to never be apart again, to help fix Heartland and bring back the smiles it once had along with restoring order in the Xyz Dimension so Yuto can squash Academia’s forces and inflict retribution for the pain they inflicted on his home.

Seeing Yuri be in their loving embrace away from Professor Akaba’s control and remembering their loving father. 

  
  


And then, seeing Professor Akaba’s bleeding body laid out in front of his life’s work. A fitting tribute to the selfish pig-headed man who thought of his own needs above others.

** _Glad you see things my way, my lovely treasures. Now, remember when I asked you to buy those bracelets?_ **

Yugo raised his right hand and saw the silver bracelet with the green gem -- a peridot was what the sign said -- but all Yugo can think about is how its color reminds him too much of Rin’s hair when it smelled like that green apple shampoo that she loved. Yuto did the same and he took note of the indigo colored stone on his bracelet, his thoughts about how Ruri was doing, waiting for him and her brother to rescue her and to take her home.

** _Channel your power, your thoughts, your desires, memories of happiness, of safety, of love...every moment that you spent together, channel them all into energy so that these bracelets can bring Rin and Ruri back into your arms. Then, when our precious Lily arrives he can give these lovely gifts to the girls, to remind them of the love and safety both of you provided. _ **

_ “Yes, Father!” _Both of his sons stated. An aura of power, green and purple respectively, surrounded the bracelets as the boys did as instructed, pouring their hearts, memories and presence into them. But before long, a black aura joined in, wrapping itself around the bracelet, fusing with the ones the boys had channeled as if holding hands. The auras soon faded away but the two boys could sense a newfound strength within these trinkets.

** _You did well my Loves. _ **Zarc chuckled in satisfaction, invisible arms enveloping both of the boys, feelings of pride, love and satisfaction filling the boys' heads. They gave a happy sigh, eyes misty and almost closed from bliss. 

Shun put his hand on Yuto's shoulder waking him up from the heady feeling. The older boy had a concerned look on his face, Yuto couldn't help but smile, Shun was just worried about him, he had no idea how Father's love can be so holy consuming. He merely put his hand over Shun's that's still on his shoulder, rubbing it, indicating he was just fine. Shun gave a sigh, relieved. 

“What do we do now?” said Yugo..

“I assume Reiji will be asking where I went,” Shun suggested. “And he probably would have seen the two of you through the city’s security cameras yesterday seeing as you both got a new set of clothes.”

“...So you’re saying that he would want to have a word with us?” asked Yuto.

** _Excellent..._ **Zarc hissed.

"Let's not keep him waiting then," said Yugo excitedly with a smirk on his face. "Let's go."

Yuto licked his fangs, thinking for a moment. Even if it was Father's will, it didn't mean they shouldn't be cautious, even with Shun vouching for Reiji. 

Yugo blinked when he noticed the look of concern on his brother’s face. "Hey Yuto, come closer." Yuto blinked at him before walking closer to Yugo. The older brother grabbed Yuto's cheeks, forcing his mouth open gently. "Your fangs have grown out. Geez, be careful! What if someone saw that?"

Yuto blinked, not having noticed at all. Yeah, they shouldn't really be giving themselves more attention and questions than needed and a pair of fangs would raise an eyebrow or two. Yuto did let out a whine though, he liked his fangs!

Reluctantly, and with a little concentration, his fangs retracted and were back to normal… human normal at the very least. And that was when a terrifying thought came to Yuto’s mind.

"You don't think Yuya…?" Yuto let the question trail off. 

Yugo hummed in concern. "We can't really check on him though. Father said not to get anywhere near Yuzu after all..."

Both boys were visibly uncomfortable and worried at the prospect of not checking on their baby brother. Yuya was the most sensitive one of them all and the wounds from Sora’s betrayal and learning about the Fusion Dimension’s rampage across the dimensions would have crushed him! Not to mention that Yuya would want Sora to suffer for all of the pain he caused.

If there was one thing that was frightening of Yuya was that his imagination could run wild. And it was certain that he was thinking of some very gruesome punishments to “entertain” the family once they had their claws on Sora. It took a lot to lose Yuya's trust and care, the boy loved so much and cared deeply. So once someone loses that trust, the fires of hell are set loose.

“He told _ us _ not to check on him,” Yuto repeated. “But...what about Shun?”

Yugo was unconvinced, though. “Shun’s not a sociable type; he was working with the enemy before! There’s no way he’ll be able to explain this to Yuzu.”

Zarc ran a hand through Yuto's hair, noticing the concern on his poor shadow’s face. 

** _Do not worry my darlings, I'll be there to protect your brother if anything of that sort happens. Now it's time to pay Reiji Akaba a visit. _ **Zarc kissed Yugo's forehead, soothing him of his concerns.

"Yes Father," both boys answered, all three heading towards Yugo’s D-Wheel. And with the roar of the engine like the sound of a dragon, they headed off to LDS tower. 

****************

“Yuya!”

Yuya didn’t even step foot into the You Show Duel School building before he was hit across the face with Yuzu’s trademark _ harisen. _If Yuto and Yugo were here to see this, they would be tearing that fan to shreds and threatening to shred Yuzu’s skin with their claws if she happened to do anything like that again.

“Ow!!!” Yuya said, even though it didn’t hurt at all. Yuya could feel Zarc burning with rage, and had to beg his father to not over react. The harisen was the equivalent of being playfully swatted. Father still wanted to snap her neck but he stopped, running his hand gently through Yuya's hair, feelings of protectiveness and possessiveness clouding his senses for a moment. 

“There you are!” said Yuzu, grasping onto Yuya’s shirt. “Where have you been?” which promptly woke Yuya up from Zarc's mental projections. 

“Yuzu’s been worried sick about you,” said Tatsuya, as he, Ayu and Futoshi approached the entrance. “We hadn’t seen you since we left Sora to recover in the hospital two days ago!”

“And you missed out on Futoshi’s duel against that of Reira Akaba,” Ayu added.

“That Reira gave me the shivers!” Futoshi shuddered, remembering the Synchro Summoning his opponent used to end the duel.

“And there’s still no signs of Sora,” Yuzu finished, releasing her grip on Yuya’s shirt. “Are you doing okay though? Did anything bad happen?”

But Yuya was not aware of Yuzu’s questions. Only one thought was on his mind right now.

Sora…

At that name, Yuya felt anger rising inside his chest. Sora Shiunin; a boy with an innocent face who happily described laying waste to Yuto’s hometown and carding the innocent citizens of the Xyz Dimension. Who used his Fluffal monsters as a symbol to hide the wicked and twisted soul that wanted to lay waste on anyone who used Xyz summoning. Who showed no qualms on how he helped destroy people’s lives, comparing the conquest to a simple “hunting game”

Well, now that Yuya knows exactly what happened to his brother, Sora better be ready. He will roast the boy alive for the pain he put Yuto through…

Or better yet, he’ll make _ Yuto _ torture Sora for everything he’s done. 

Or even better, perhaps let _ Father _ have his way with the Academia spy and turn him into a puppet like those Sora created with his _ Fusion Summoning _. Make him experience pain indefinitely as a stuffed toy with mechanical weapons sprouting from his body as he begs for the sweet release of death.

Yes...that would put a smile on his face as he licked the tips of his fangs. That would _ definitely _ be such an entertaining show….

“Yuya?”

Yuya blinked and looked up at Yuzu calling out his name. “What is it, Yuzu?”

“Yuya...are you all right?” Yuzu asked, noticing something strange about her close friend. Maybe it’s the eyes...just for a second, she thought they were glowing. Or perhaps she thought she saw his teeth look more like something out of a predator….

And Zarc couldn't be prouder as he kept running his hand through Yuya's hair and wrapping his arm around the boy's waist, relishing in the types of ways to _ torture _that boy for revealing such ugly truths to them. For betraying one of his sons and insulting the other. 

** _All in good time my Shining Star. We will get the retribution we crave soon enough. But calm yourself dearest one. _ ** Zarc kissed the top of Yuya's head. ** _Relax, do not let your Dragon side out, keep your fires cooled. Merely focus on the present. Let nothing distract you. Keep your guard up. Let the world see your beautiful smile. You don't wanna scare your little friends after all, right? Father will make everything better soon. I promise. _ **

His attention returned to his surroundings, and upon noticing the fear on Yuzu’s face, Yuya only smiled and said. “It’s nothing. I’m sure Sora will find his way back to my kitchen sooner or later and ask to eat some of my mom’s pancakes. Now come on, we should get going.”

“But…”

“Everything’s fine,” he said with that smile on his face. Although it seemed more forceful than anything. “Now come on, we should get to the stadium to see the final matches of Round 1 and figure out who I’ll be facing tomorrow.”

“Yuya, are you sure about -- 

“Let’s _ go _, Yuzu,” Yuya stated through gritted teeth, placing his hand over Yuzu’s bracelet as they, Tatsuya, Futoshi and Ayu headed toward the tournament. His grip on Yuzu’s wrist was like steel and the way he charged toward their destination was so unlike him.

And throughout the entire trip, Yuzu had no idea what to say. It was as if something was forcing her mouth to be glued shut as Yuya nearly dragged her towards the stadium where Gongenzaka would be waiting for them.

Trying to distract herself, she thought she saw two cloaked figures observing the duel involving Hokuto. One tall and the other who...if she wasn’t seeing things, looked exactly like her.

Before Yuzu could make a comment about it, she was pulled towards the stadium. And by the time Yuzu had a chance to see that doppelganger of hers, they had vanished into thin air.

Yuzu shook her head. This entire thing with Yuto and Shun and Sora was getting into her. She’s not feeling well. She’s being delusional. She’s not going mad...

…

...

...

...or was she?

  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4: A talk with Reiji Akaba.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo.... *nervous laughter*
> 
> Turns out Green_Phantom_Queen and I are very bad influences on each other... 
> 
> She would take every upertunity to brainwash someone and I would actually encourage it... 
> 
> In my not so good defense. Shun is fun to brainwash. So fair warning next chapter.... 
> 
> Y'all are in for a surprise. 
> 
> She also has a violent streak so Sora is not gonna come out of this thing remotley okay. Fair warnings.

Yuri wasn’t too surprised to find that he was tasked to kidnap _ another _ princess for Professor Akaba. The ones from the Synchro and Xyz Dimension were so _ easy _to apprehend that it’ll be just as simple to retrieve the one from this ‘Standard Dimension’ as well. Why the professor wanted more of these girls when he already had one of his own by the name of Serena -- who had this annoying habit of trying to prove that she belonged on the front lines -- was not for him to question. He had a job and that was what he was going to do. 

He wouldn’t be too surprised if this girl was close to a boy that had a similar face to his own either. That foolish Xyz duelist and the one whose name translated to Fusion were _ nothing _ compared to his dueling prowess; this Standard counterpart would also fall into despair when this light of his life was snatched away without any way to get her back. 

And for some reason Starved Venom was chuckling at that declaration. 

Yuri returned to his room, The two girls were each in a tower, kept there and guarded by a brother and sister pair chosen by the professor himself. From what he heard, the girls with a face like Serena have a knack for escaping since aside from Serena, both of them have tried running away five different times by now, and apprehended just as many times.

Still the fact that they managed to escape however brief a time since they arrived many times is impressive. The one with green hair, Rin, always bites, screams and even pulls on people’s hair when she would be apprehended. She was very loud and impulsive, and would never stop fighting or screaming even after she was tossed back into the tower again and again and again. 

The other one, Ruri Kurosaki, was not as loud or impulsive. She usually planned for any openings, and even if apprehended she would fight for freedom as well, but never with the same spark that Rin has. Hers was more of a silent fury, ready to strike but just not finding the right time. And the only indicator of her determination was in the look in her eyes. They looked like a hunter about to hurl a spear into an antelope.

The girls were amusing; their continuance to defy the Professor and his head scientists had given Yuri several good laughs, and elevated his boredom. Shame it’ll all have to end soon. The Professor had had enough of the two’s rebellious streaks, and in a week or so he would have the Doktor insert his perfected parasites into their brains. Yuri shuddered with disgust, these things have never set well with the Fusion duelist. They were simply there to be squashed in his opinion.

The thought of that Doktor and his twisted experiments was soon replaced with a strange feeling. It was like a burst of heat that suddenly enveloped his chest and then spreading out from every strand of his hair to his fingertips, warming him from the inside out.

_ “The feeling is back,” _He thought as he sat down on his bed. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, hand over his heart. These past two days had been a cause for worry to the pink haired boy. A feeling had overcome him a few nights ago, something he could never remember feeling in this life-time, and it had scared him to death. Rage and hatred in the back of his mind was there and those he could understand; they were what kept Yuri’s mind intact, fueling him with a sense of purpose. Hate to those beneath him, those who would presume to be better than him, and rage at the world for being so unfair and unkind to him, they were all the things Yuri has had ever since he was a child, which transformed into malice and apathy under the Professor’s (un)watchful eye.

But after Sora returned and he was tasked to go after the girl known as Yuzu Hiiragi, everything changed. 

All of a sudden, he felt... happy. Something inside of him lit up...as if something had gone completely and utterly _ right _in that moment, and Yuri wanted to reach out. To grasp it. To take it into his arms and keep it close until it burned out and all that was left of it were ashes. He could hear Starve Venom in his mind groaning, reaching for that feeling and encouraging Yuri to do the same.

And the boy had tried, oh did he try to, but he just couldn’t do it.. He dropped to his knees in that moment, sorrow and disappointment hitting his heart. What was that feeling? Why did he feel it? Why couldn’t he grab it?

It didn’t stop there either. Phantom sensations of being touched softly on the arms, chest and neck. Or his face being kissed and the ghostly hands caressing his cheek. It felt so good, _ too _good, and Yuri had no idea if he wanted it to stop or for it to never ever end.

And even then he was noticing things differently. The shadows...they seemed to look upon him in curiosity. Observing them and wanting to wrap themselves around him like a mother wraps their child tight. That...frightened him. It felt like they wanted to suffocate him, smother him, envelope him in fright that he’s never ever felt before in his life.

But it was the voice that frightened him the most.

Somehow, somewhere, there was a voice that was talking to him in his mind, whispering sweet nothings into his ear and he _ knew _ who that voice was yet it was still haunting him. He wanted who that voice belonged to and he wanted to know why he wanted it so badly...

The echo in the back of his mind beckoned him to uncover the truth and to go to the source of those sensations, even though Yuri had no idea where they came from. But he _ wanted _ to go there, he _ needed _ to go there. Even if he was going mad, it made him feel safe and calm and secure. He wanted those feelings more than _ anything _.

Instead, he snuffed these emotions out as he began to focus on what was there, what was right in front of him. He had a mission to complete, and he should get ready. He could feel Starve Venom’s disappointment and longing that reflected his own. 

With a heavy heart, Yuri got out of bed and looked at his deck resting on the bedside table. As he began to leaf through the cards that were the closest thing he had to family, he did not notice the shadows that reached towards him.

And before he could even consider it, the shadows wiped the tear that fell down the corner of his eye

**************

“Yuya, there you are!”

Yuya smiled when he saw Gongenzaka waiting for him in the main lobby. Zarc eyed the taller boy with the pompadour but a swift probe of his son’s memories made him much more understanding. Noboru Gongenzaka was there to help Yuya stand tall and proud during those years when the father of _ this _ lifetime, Yusho Sakaki, disappeared without a trace. 

Zarc narrowed his eyes when he glimpsed through those painful memories; three years of his precious baby, being teased and bullied for being the “son of a coward” and mocked for trying to take on Strong Ishijima in his father’s place to defend Yusho Sakaki’s honor. He had seen the memories of his Yuya on the brink of despair in the park, sitting at his favorite spot on a bridge, or his room, crying alone, slipping those goggles on to put a mask between himself and the world. To not let anyone see his tears because he was told to keep smiling. If only he was there sooner to wipe those tears away, to cradle Yuya as he slept, to weave sweet dreams that told of a promise that he, Zarc, the _ true _ father, would come back. 

Zarc caressed Yuya’s cheek softly… He wasn’t gonna let these tears fall down his little Star’s face again, he promised, and Yuya as always relaxed further in Zarc’s embrace. 

It was only thanks to Gongenzaka and Hiiragi Yuzu that his little Star had found the support that his family would always give him. It was quite funny when he looked at it that way. The cause of their separation was a constant comfort for his little treasures in this world. Ray would be rolling in her grave if she knew what her sacrifice caused. 

Zarc made a mental note to give Gongenzaka a high position as Yuya’s bodyguard. The boy’s muscular frame and bonds with his shooting star would make him a perfect choice. As for Yuzu Hiragi, he simply would have to see. He still didn’t like the idea of Yuzu swatting Yuya over the face with that paper fan, but he could tolerate her kindness and determination to be strong to help those that she loved...

Especially since he just sensed _ another _ of Ray’s pieces now in this dimension.

He was no fool. When he saw the look in Yuzu Hiragi’s eyes and the look of shock of seeing another girl with her face, it did not take long for Zarc to note that Yuzu took notice of En-Moon. 

Which means that sooner or later, his precious Lily will arrive. He smirked, satisfaction rolling off of him in waves. Finally his family would be reunited, brief of a time as it would be. His poor Yuri... he could feel how desperate he was to reach them, it broke his heart to be so close and yet so far away. 

But did En-Moon have a connection to Yuri like how Rin and Ruri were so precious to Yugo and Yuto? He would have to ask Yuri when they reunited, but this would be for later. Yuya’s safety was more important.

“I, the man Gongenzaka am proud that you’re back to proper health,” said Gongenzaka, giving Yuya a good slap behind the back. “Where were you yesterday?”

“Oh, me?” asked Yuya, figuring out what to say without revealing Yuto and Yugo now staying in his house. “I, uh, I was with my mother and we did a bit of shopping!”

“Shopping for new cards?” asked Ayu.

“No, not cards!” Yuya clarified, although he wished that he could have bought some new Xyz or Synchro and Tuner monsters after Yuto and Yugo’s lessons. “But there _ was _an accident that caused most of the dishes and cups to shatter so mom decided to get some new ones and --“

“DARLING!!!!”

The shrill voice of Mieru Hochun caused everyone to turn before Yuya was tackled to the floor by the red-haired fortune-teller.

“Oh my darling Yuya!” Mieru exclaimed. “Where were you? I was going to dedicate my victory to you but I was utterly trounced by that ninja in one turn!”

“Ninja?” asked Yuya turning to Gongenzaka.

“She’s talking about Tsukikage,” Gongenzaka explained. “He and his brother Hikage hail from the Fuuma Dueling School.”

“Can you imagine how cool that must be?” asked Tatsuya. “Ninjas that fight with Duel Monsters!”

“Don’t you _ dare _bring anything about that man up!” Mieru screams at Tatsuya. The blue haired boy stepped back as she added, “I don’t want to remember my utterly humiliating loss!” 

“Come on, Mieru,” said Yuya, helping Mieru get off of him as he sat up. “I mean, I’m flattered that you tried to dedicate this duel to me.”

“You really mean it?!” Mieru exclaimed, her anger subsiding when she heard such praise from him. “Oh, I knew you would lo--”

Just as she was about to leap into Yuya’s arms again, she felt a shiver fall down her spine. There was...there was something off about her future duelmate.

Yuya blinked, seeing Mieru frozen for a moment, looking at him strangely. “Something wrong Mieru?” he asked her. 

She blinked at him, tilting her head like a curious cat. “Well it’s just, you seem...different,” she answered as best as she could.

“Huh?” All of the people present asked, not sure what she was talking about. Yuzu, on the other hand, had her full attention on both of them. Unlike with her, Yuya hadn’t acted strangely, and yet Mieru could see it too, or rather sense it. 

The red haired girl pulled out a small bundle wrapped in silk cloth and placed it onto the ground. She untied the corners of the cloth to reveal her blue crystal apple “There is something off about you, Yuya…” she said, doing her best to stare into the core of her beloved crystal.

“Mieru, I’m sure it’s nothing,” said the red eyed boy with a sweet smile. But Mieru didn’t stop looking, even when Yuya placed a hand over her wrist.

“Darkness…” Mieru mumbled, seeing a dark fog form within the apple. “Yuya...I sense a powerful darkness within you!”

“Darkness?” asked Ayu.

“The thought of that makes me feel shivers!” Futoshi shuddered. 

“Wait, there’s something else...I see...a pair of eyes...Golden eyes in the shadows,” Mieru breathed, green eyes looking horror.

“Dark they were and golden-eyed…” Yuya mumbled, feeling Father’s presence. It was a mixture of curiosity of this girl able to detect his presence and rage in how Mieru was exposing him too soon.

“Hmm?” asked Ayu. “What did you say?”

“I was just describing what Mieru saw in her apple,” said Yuya. “So...what else do you see in there, Mieru?”

Mieru’s heart began to pound in her chest as one more image appeared before her. “I...I…”

“Yes?” asked Yuya.

“I….I…”

Yuya frowned as he saw Mieru panicking. If she revealed one more thing about Zarc, he’d...

“...Guys,” Yuya said suddenly. “Can I be left alone with Mieru for a while?”

Yuzu felt something grip her heart as Mieru described what she saw, even though it wasn’t much, just Darkness and a pair of golden eyes, that can be chalked to nonsense. But the image it conjured in her mind, eyes that weren’t human, filled with fury and hatred, a desire to _ destroy _, sending shivers of fear down her spine. There was a name for this darkness...it was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t reach it. More than that, the fear didn’t feel like her own, it was as if she was sensing someone else’s emotions, ones which disappeared like a dream, leaving behind worry for Yuya’s safety, 

If these eyes if this presence hurt her best friend in any way, she would never forgive it, she would never forgive herself for letting that happen. Yuya seemed thoughtful though, not worried. Was her best friend truly okay? 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” asked Gongenzaka. “She looks like she needs to lie down.”

“Yeah, maybe losing to Tsukikage might have done something to her head,” Futoshi suggested.

“No, no, it’s fine,” said Yuya as he watched Mieru wrap the apple back in the purple square of silk. “Besides, I think it’d be better that the _ both of us _ enjoy each other’s company.”

For some odd reason, the way that sentence was said caused everyone to step back. But Yuya was just smiling at them and surely nothing could go wrong. Mieru’s fortune-telling wasn’t...there’s no _ way _ that Yuya Sakaki had some inner darkness in him...right?

“I...if you say so, Yuya,” said Tatsuya. “Come on, we should get ready to see the last duels for the day.”

“Go on ahead, I’ll catch up with you later,” said Yuya. The four of them nodded, but Yuzu stayed there a worried look on her face. 

“Yuzu?” Yuya asked. The pink haired girl launched herself at Yuya, wrapping her arms around him, as if to protect him, even though she was the one shivering. “Yu-Yuzu…” he mumbled surprised, she really did seem worried. Mieru’s words causing her to panic, after Yuya’s reaction. 

She was afraid. Afraid of this inner darkness in Yuya. Afraid for Yuto and Shun’s plight. Afraid that maybe, just maybe, she’s going crazy and that her world was slowly falling apart.

Zarc on his end couldn’t be more amused. Yuzu Hiragi, En-Flowers, hugging his son as if he was something precious to her, ready to protect him as well. What a beautiful sight; Ray and Leo Akaba would truly be horrified. Oh it couldn’t have been better!

With a touch of his hand, he patted Yuzu’s head, which caused the pink-haired girl to freeze, Zarc reached gently into her mind, calming her down, making her let go of Yuya. The pink haired girl blinked, now calmer and happier than she had been for quite some time. “Don’t be late now!” she said with a grin which Yuya matched with his own.

Yuya placed his hands over Yuzu’s wrists and nodded his head. “I’ll be fine. Take care of yourself!” 

Yuzu looked down where Yuya’s hands were and blushed when she pulled her hands away from him. After an awkward three seconds of noticing what just happened, she smiled at Yuya and waved good-bye before following Gongenzaka and the younger children to the stadium. 

_ “Thank you, Father,” _said Yuya with a soft smile. Zarc merely kissed the top of Yuya’s head as an answer. 

** _Anything for you, my love. _ ** Zarc replied. ** _Now then, we need to do something about this waif here. Hmm...I know just what to do._ **

Mieru looked at Yuya with a tilt of her head before Yuya looked down at her with a smile that would make her swoon.

“Mieru,” Yuya began with a smile on his face, he extended his hand to her charmingly. “Follow me.”

Mieru nodded her head as Yuya lead Mieru down the hallway and into a recreation room with a television, a couch and a table with a glass tabletop. Mieru looked in confusion as Yuya ushered her in before he also entered…

And then closed the door and locked it.

At the sound of Yuya locking the door, Mieru felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Something was wrong; she didn’t need her crystal apple to sense _ that _.

“Mieru?” Yuya asked with a voice like honey.

“Y...yes, darling?” asked Mieru, slowly turning around, eyes wide with fright.

Yuya chuckled as he approached her...and his cheerful expression swiftly morphed into one of impatient fury, eyes sharp, pupils narrowed, his red eyes seemed to resemble the color of blood, His lips turned downward as he glared at her. His hands curled into fists as he bared his fangs at the girl.

“What are you _ really _ here for?” he hisses.

Mieru fest like her voice was caught in her throat as she saw something...something _ dark _. An aura of darkness she could see from the corner of her eye, gently hugging Yuya. 

“W...what do you mean?” Mieru stammered, backing away slowly. 

“My fortune,” Yuya began as the shadows continued to lick his skin. “When we dueled weeks ago. The coin you used to decide turn order: on one side was a dragon, and on one side was a demon.”

“Yeah...it...it was just a way to decide who would go first. Nothing more.” Mieru said, ready to scream at the top of her lungs at the slightest provocation.

“Oh it was _ something _ ,” Yuya purred as the shadows began to lengthen. “I should’ve seen it sooner. One side of me is a dragon and the other side is the darkness that is _ Father… _”

He sighed as he felt Father release another wave of possessiveness, eyes nearly rolling to the back of his head as he savored each and every drop of his father’s love.

“F...Father?” Mieru squeaks. “You mean...Yusho?”

Yuya woke from his trance when he heard that name. Mieru gasped as Yuya tilted his head to the side, red eyes as big as one from an owl that seemed to fill up Mieru’s vision and make it look like Yuya was about to go...berserk.

“Yusho?” Yuya repeated. One of his eyes twitched as he screeched, “YUSHO?!”

At this, Yuya couldn’t help but laugh. Low, soft, starting from his heart before it rose from his throat as he lifted his head to the sky into a full-blown cackle. For her skills in fortune-telling, this little girl honestly thought that _ Yusho Sakaki _ was a demon?!

Oh Yusho was plenty of things; father, entertainer, loving husband. But a demon he was not.

And yet he broke his son’s heart by vanishing without a trace. Zarc growled lowly, he would make sure the man paid _ dearly _ for the heartbreak he gave his child for all these years. _ No one _ hurt his children and got away with it, especially not his baby boy. Not even Yoko could change his mind. Yoko would _ live _ for being the supporting mother that Yuya needed, but Yusho Sakaki would pay for _ everything _.

Yuya continued to laugh, hand to his heart as Mieru remembered just what she had seen in the crystal apple. After the darkness and the golden eyes, she saw…

A dragon.

But not just a dragon. The dragon looked like it was made of metal, with eyes that reflected multiple images of shadows with its gaze. This...this couldn’t be what was inside her prince! This dragon couldn’t exist with the same Yuya Sakaki who charmed her in their duel!

“Yuya!” Mieru screamed, eyes brimming with tears. “What’s going on? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!”

Yuya stopped laughing and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, his upper body leaning forward. Mieru could see the shadows more clearly now, flickering like flames. She whimpered, waiting for how Yuya would react.

As she reached for the crystal apple in her coin purse, ready to use it to knock Yuya unconscious if need be, the red and green haired boy stopped himself. He didn’t want to disobey or disappoint father, but Mieru was his friend, he cared for her, and she had done nothing wrong. He could see her sadness, love, fear and worry, Yuya never liked making people sad. He always, always wanted them happy. He always did whatever he could to make his father and brothers smile; even in this life, he always adored seeing the smile on his friends’ lips. 

But he couldn’t disappoint Father, never Father. 

After pondering how to react, Yuya finally heard a whisper in his ear.

** _It seems this girl really does care for you, my Star. You have touched many hearts dear one. And you don’t want to lose this mystical waif either, do you?_ **

_ “No, father,” _Yuya answered softly. Mieru might have seen his father, but she couldn’t help wanting to use her powers to protect him, and she was worried about him, Yuya was certain. After all, even if her methods back at the duel were cruel, all she wanted to do was make sure he was safe.The Pendulum user never liked losing friends, and Mieru was no exception. 

** _Then why don’t we keep her, darling?_ **

_ “Keep her?” _he asked a little confused, and Zarc chuckled with mirth. 

** _Would you like to keep her, Little one? _ **

_ “Yes, Father,” _Yuya replied with a soft smile on his face. Even his mental voice was breathless what with Zarc sending wave after wave of satisfaction and pride. 

** _Then do as I instruct, Precious. _ **

Mieru watched with bated breath as the shadows around Yuya began to fade away like smoke until they completely disappeared. Still, she grasped onto her crystal apple tight. 

“Mieru?” Yuya asked innocently.

Mieru blinked as she noticed how Yuya was back to his normal self. “Y...Yes, Yuya?”

Yuya smirked and gave Mieru a wink. “Could I see that apple of yours just for a second?”

Mieru nearly dropped her apple in shock. First Yuya was acting like a maniac and now he’s acting like his outburst never happened?

Something in her gut was telling her to say “No”. To just walk away and leave Yuya to his business, forget that she ever mentioned that he looked different and then rush to Madam Divina to see what was going on.

And yet...Yuya was staring at her, asking for something so _ innocent _ like seeing what was so special about her crystal apple. To him, it’s just an interesting trinket, to her it is what she used as a guide for troubled times.

Only she could unleash its powers; to Yuya it was just a paperweight.

Nothing could go wrong if she lent it to him for a minute or two...right?

“Um...sure,” said Mieru, letting Yuya take the apple into his hands. 

Yuya felt the cool surface of the apple radiate with energy. Yes...this would be _ perfect. _

“My, my, my,” Yuya said, eyes wide with amazement. “It’s beautiful…”

“It is!” Mieru said, beaming with pride. “My mother bought it for me when I became enrolled in the Unno Divination School to give me good luck!”

“I can tell!” Yuya chuckled, eyes glowing. He then gasped. “Oh, I think I see something within it!”

Mieru looked in alarm. “Really? Where?!”

“You have to _ really _ look at it, Mieru! I see a little spark…”

“Let me see, let me see!” 

Yuya smiled as he concentrated on what he wanted to show Mieru. He wanted to show her that Zarc was not something to be afraid of. That he wanted her help for what was to happen next.

Lending a part of his powers to Yuya to channel was the idea, unlike Yuto his other sons didn’t have the power to hypnotize people so naturally; they had other gifts. 

Mieru leaned close, bright green eyes trying to see what Yuya had seen within her apple. This has never happened before!

“Look very closely, Mieru…” Yuya purred, seeing a soft light glow within the facets of the apple. “It looks beautiful…” Yuya’s eyes slowly turned gold as he said this. Zarc wasn’t possessing him this time. Rather, it was merely a sign of Yuya using Zarc’s powers. 

The crystal apple glowed softly, capturing Mieru’s eye, she didn’t notice the change in Yuya at all, focused on the light inside as Yuya’s soft lilting voice guided her, lulled her into a trance.

“Just keep looking at it, Mieru,” Yuya whispered, waving a hand over the apple as if sprinkling magic dust over it. “Keep looking...keep looking…the light is warm and comforting, isn’t it?” 

The red haired girl had a small smile on her face, nodding to Yuya’s words. Her breathing became lighter and she felt calmer in Yuya’s presence.

“Do you know what I love about light?” Yuya cooed as the golden sparkles seemed to spin round and round like glitter in a whirlpool. “The more light that is cast, the greater the shadows that form from them. What about you, Mieru? What do you think?”

“I….” Mieru breathed out, eyes glazing over, listening to Yuya’s every word. “I….”

“You’re doing so good Mieru, just keep looking into the light,” Yuya whispered, fangs extending as licked them in delight. “I’m so _ proud _ of you, my sweet.”

Mieru felt so happy at the praise. Her duelmate was praising her for doing something good!

“And you know what would be even better?” Yuya continued, smile stretched out as the shadows began to dance around his feet. “If you listened _ very _ carefully at what I have to say. Could you do that for me, Mieru-chan?”

Mieru nodded her head with no hesitation. The light and Yuya’s voice were so nice. Why shouldn’t she listen to him? 

“Listen very close then,” Yuya hissed as the darkness rose like the tide, blocking out sound from within this room. “I have something to ask of you. You’d do anything for me, right?”

“A...anything,” Mieru replied with another nod of her head.

“Splendid!” Yuya squealed. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear! Now, listen very carefully…”

He leaned close and whispered into the girl’s ear, “The Darkness that you saw, the golden eyes that seemed to stare into your soul...How did they make you feel?”

“S-scared,” Mieru answered with a slight shudder. “I don’t know why, but those eyes...they seemed to hold power, and malice… and it was all wrapped around you, Yuya. You always...shined so bright, the Darkness was so intense...it...it _ scared me _.” 

Yuya frowned. He didn’t want Mieru to be scared of the darkness. What to do...what to do…

Oh! He knew _ exactly _ what to do...

“Mieru…” Yuya hissed. “Look at my eyes…”

He lowered his hand, making sure the crystal apple wasn’t too far from Mieru’s field of vision before he took notice of Mieru’s glassy stare. 

“_ My _ eyes are gold, but are you afraid of me?” Yuya questioned, hand underneath her chin, slightly lifting it so she was eye-to-eye with him.. 

Mieru looked straight into those golden orbs, a sense of peace still in her mind, and the pretty light still in her sights. Yuya’s eyes...Yuya’s eyes were...they were _ beautiful _. Gold, yet still soft, holding kindness and peace in them. The ones she saw in her crystal apple held… they held too much for her to describe. She shook her head in answer to him.

“See?” Yuya cooed, patting Mieru’s cheek as the shadows danced and twirled between the two. “And what about the darkness? What do you see in them right now?”

Mieru’s gaze was focused on the swirling darkness that spun round and round Yuya. It seemed now that she looked at it clearly, the shadows were embracing Yuya lovingly, protecting him. They did not seem to want to hurt her prince at all, quite the opposite. Which was exactly what Mieru replied with. 

“Your crystal apple was telling the truth, but it was your _ perception _ that was skewed,” Yuya explained, a gust of wind rising beneath his feet, his eyes glowing, flickering like fireflies as the shadows’ dancing became more frantic, erratic, dazzling. “The golden eyes and the shadows aren’t evil at all...are they, Mieru?”

“No...They...they can’t be,” Mieru answered, seeing the logic from Yuya’s questions locking into place. “They seem so gentle...loving…” 

“Yes, they are,” Yuya said huskily. “You won’t fear them, right Mieru? You wouldn’t fear _ me _, would you?”

She shook her head. “I won’t fear you...or the shadows.” 

“That’s good Mieru, you’re doing so good,” Yuya stated, placing a kiss on Mieru’s cheek. Even in her trance-like state, she beamed at that, happy to hear all the praise from her darling. 

“You’d help me with anything I ask, won’t you?” Yuya continued. “If I ever need you, you’ll help, and you won’t be afraid. The light will take away your fear.”

“The light will take it away,” Mieru mumbled. 

“That’s right,” Yuya whispered. “Now, once I snap my fingers, you’ll wake up from the trance. You will only remember that I brought you here to ask you something very important, ok?”

“Yes.”

“And from now on, whenever I give you a command, you will address me as your prince or darling. It means that I am so _ important _ to you, and you’d do anything for me. Won’t you?”

“Of course I would, darling…” Mieru said.

Yuya placed the crystal apple into her hand, the light inside it slowly fading away and the shadows retreating. The golden glow in Yuya’s eyes faded away as both he and Zarc smiled in praise at what they accomplished.

“Okay...3...2...1…”

And with a snap of his fingers, Mieru blinked her eyes and looked around. She looked at the crystal apple in her hand, wondering why it was there as Yuya smiled down at her. 

“Mieru,” said Yuya with a chuckle. “Are you okay?”

“Um, of course I am darling!” Mieru answered. “You said you needed me for something?”

“I did. Yuzu told me that you’re capable of tracking people down with your apple, right?”

“That’s right!” Mieru said with a beaming smile. It took her a long time to practice that particular skill but now she was able to use it without worry. 

“I’ll need you to help me track down someone important in a few days,” Yuya continues. “I can’t tell you now, so come to me when I call you. Here, let’s exchange numbers.”

After a few seconds of the two trading numbers onto their Duel Disks, Yuya then added, “All right, let’s get going! We have to go see the final duels for today.”

And when he grasped her hand, Mieru felt like she could jump to the moon. This...this couldn’t be what she thought it was…

_ My darling...is taking me on a _ date _ ?! _ She thought as she saw Yuya wink at her and that was all she needed to confirm that yes, this was a date. _ AHHHHH!!!!! _

And she was still mentally screaming as Yuya unlocked the door and lead them towards the stadium.

**************

Shun had demanded to see Reiji, Yuto and Yugo standing behind him, both having serious expressions on their faces. Yuto’s arms were crossed, glaring a bit. Yugo on the other hand bored expression, bordering on impatience as Nakajima kept telling all three of them the same thing. 

“Reiji Akaba is busy at the moment,” and Yugo was about to punch the guy if Shun doesn’t, even though the older boy looked like he _ really _ wanted to. 

“Tell him that this is important!” Shun snapped, not giving a damn who Nakajima worked for and was ready to summon his Raidraptors just to prove a point.

“I will notify him and we can schedule a meeting for next week,” Nakajima replied, not even phased by how Shun’s arms were trembling with rage.

_ “How do we get him to cooperate with us?” _Yugo asked Yuto with a simple glance.

_ “If only Father wasn’t with Yuya right now…” _ Yuto grumbled. _ “He would know what to do.” _

Yugo bit his lip, almost to the point of his fangs causing it to bleed. They were getting nowhere!

Yuto finally groaned as he told Nakajima, “Just tell him that it’s about his bastard of a father already!” 

“Oh?” Was the response they got from one Reiji Akaba from behind the door. “Why didn’t you say so?”

Yugo was just one second away from punching the door open but Yuto grabbing his arm and a simple shake of his head stopped him.

The door opened, Reiji coming out, eyes hidden behind his glasses as they caught the light. He was not _ that _surprised to see two identical faces there, nor did he react to the three murderous expressions on all three of his visitors. “Please come in,” he said with a small smirk, stepping aside as if inviting the three of them in. 

_ “I’m gonna punch him.” _Yugo said as they entered.

_ “Yugo....” _Yuto growled.

_ “I will!” _ Yugo exclaimed _ “That smug asshole deserves it!” _

Yuto just mentally sighed. _ “How am I the second youngest again?” _

Nakajima closed the door as Reiji took a good look at who had entered his office, particularly of the one that was not Shun or Yuto. “Yugo, correct?”

“Yeah,” Yugo answered, taking a good look at the son of Professor Akaba, as the light stopped reflecting on his glasses. If there was one thing that both of them shared, it was the same cold, emotionless gaze that showed no love for anyone at all. He did notice someone else there though beside him. 

That person was a young boy with a cyan jacket, a blue and yellow striped shirt and khakis. In their left hand was a worn-out teddy bear, his eyes looked...dead. When the young boy saw Yugo staring at them, he gulped and hid himself behind Reiji.

“Yugo is also here for the same reason Yuto and I are,” Shun explained. “He’s looking for his close friend, Rin. Apparently she was kidnapped by the same person who kidnapped my sister.”

“And who would that be?” Reiji questioned.

“He goes by the name of Yuri,” Yuto answered, feeling sick that he had to tell the son of _that man_ _who has made his older brother a pawn_ his name. He can just imagine Yuri also wanting to feel Father’s love and darkness embrace him. Knowing that he and Yugo had mistook each other for Yuri, and how Yuri was just a puppet for that wretched man made him want to bare his fangs. 

Yuto flicked his fingers as if ready to unleash his claws. An arm wrapped around his shoulder, pressing Yuto to his older brother, made him blink. His eyes flickered to Yugo’s face seeing the pain and sadness there as well, reflecting his own. His shoulders relaxed, but he stayed in Yugo’s embrace. The three other people there didn’t fail to take notice of the natural way that the two boys had comforted each other. If they truly had been strangers up until a few days ago, why were they this easily affected by each other? Reiji narrowed his eyes slightly at the scene. 

“Something doesn’t add up,” he said. “If the two of you mistook each other for the one that kidnapped your friends...how did you _ both _come to the conclusion that the kidnapper had the name of Yuri?”

And it was there that Yuto and Yugo paused; it never occurred to them that Reiji would figure that out.

_ “Oh…” _

_ “Shit!” _

Wanting to divert Reiji’s attention, Yuto just crossed his arms. “And what would give us a reason to disclose our source of information to you?” 

“It just seems like a complete _ coincidence _ that the two fo you suddenly went from wanting to strangle each other to being on the same wavelength,” Reiji explained. “And this Yuri works for my father who we _ all _ hate. I just want to make sure that neither of you are _ collaborating _ with Academia. After all, you did once call Yugo the ‘Pawn of Fusion’, correct Yuto?”

_ “Yuto…” _Yugo said in a tranquil tone.

_ “Yeah?” _

_“Forget about me punching him, I’m gonna tear his _fucking throat out_!” _Yugo screamed in their mental link, clenching his teeth to resist showing off _his _fangs.

_ “Keep it together, Yugo!” _ Yuto snapped, also wanting to do the same thing. _ “We can’t reveal our true natures just yet.” _

Little Reira was shivering at the murderous aura that both boys were emanating towards her older brother, hugging her bear closer to her and hiding behind Reiji more, clutching at his shirt. The older boy looked strangely at Reira before he looked back at the two “counterparts”

“I suggest the two of you calm down right now,” Reiji said coolly, patting Reira’s shoulder.

Their eyes widened at the child’s fear; both had been only glaring, not as bad as Shun’s golden gaze was, but the little girl looked as if she...knew what they both were thinking almost. Father’s presence had returned, added to the small bit of shock their father being there made their minds blank and calmed down as their Father’s presence helped clear their minds of much of the murderous thoughts they had towards Reiji.

** _I know you dislike anyone who is related to that wretched man, but you cannot expose yourselves so soon. _ ** Zarc stated, doing his best not to show off _ his _ rage towards the Akabas. ** _Remember loves...revenge is a dish best served cold._ **

Invisible hands caressed Yuto’s cheek and rubbed Yugo’s arm. Zarc looked at the pair of siblings, taking note of the younger one’s apprehension, eyes wide as she stared at the shadows. 

How many psychics were in this dimension? 

Reira blinked her eyes, trying to make sense as to what she just saw. Was she seeing things or...or did the shadows around Yuto and Yugo look back at him? 

Zarc was gone a minute later, back to his sons’ hearts. He was there to give his support when his children needed him but at the moment, he didn’t need more suspicion. Aside from not wanting Leo to know about him for vengeance purposes, Yuri was still far too vulnerable at the moment. With no memory of who he truly was, and no connection to his brothers or of his Father, no matter how powerful his eldest boy was, if Akaba Leo _ knew _Zarc was already back… there’s no telling what he would subject his Yuri to. 

Zarc closed his eyes, trying to reach his Lily once more… he forced himself to calm down, nothing can return to Akaba at the moment, Yuri was safe. He let out another calming sigh. He needs to be patient. Yuri will come to him soon enough.

Reiji was unaware of this, and only saw Yuto and Yugo suddenly going from restraining their hatred towards him to blissfully unaware that he was in the room at all. Shun also looked in concern, wanting to say something when he saw the glassy look in Yuto’s eyes.

Reiji’s eyes narrowed, and decided to speak. “I didn’t get an answer,” waking both boys up. 

Yugo sighed and walked towards the silver haired older boy. “Look, it’s a counterpart thing okay? You really think either of us is with _ Academia _ when they took away the people precious to us and destroyed Yuto’s home? If either of us _ was, _ wouldn’t _ we _ have delivered Rin and Ruri to your damn bastard of a father already? I mean, if you think about it, we both had multiple chances to haul them to the Fusion Dimension! We’re the closest people to these girls, after all! So why the _ hell _ would we be helping them when we can’t even stand _ you _!?”

_ “Since when were you using your brain?” _Yuto questioned.

Yugo ignored Yuto’s sarcasm as he added, “If you truly are working against your father, then reluctantly we are allies. So take us or leave us.” He then grabbed Yuto’s arm. “Let’s get going. We’ve got more important things to do.”

Yuto wanted to protest but sighed. If Reiji didn’t want to trust them there was nothing he could do. (And secretly, he wanted to know how Yuya was doing. After all, he was always the one closest to Yuya while Yugo was the one who bonded close to Yuri)

“We’re just going to leave?” Shun asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You heard Yugo,” Yuto snarled. “If Reiji doesn’t want to believe us then we shouldn’t be wasting time when we _ could _ be preparing for when Obelisk Force attacks.”

The two counterparts began to walk past Reiji and Reira, neither of them wanting to even _ glance _ at him. Just as they were about to reach the door.

“Wait.” 

The two turned around as they saw Reiji’s lips curl upward.

“This whole ‘counterpart’ thing,” he began. “I think we can find some good use for that.”

“...What do you mean?” asked Yuto.

“You two, along with Yuya Sakaki, look similar to Yuri,” Reiji pointed out. 

“And?” Yugo growled, not liking what Reiji was implying. Yuto narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms.

“Having the three of you to cause a diversion when Obelisk Force attacks could be quite useful,” Reiji explained. “Seeing as Yuri knows how both of you look like, we can have Yuya be used as...bait before you two swoop in and capture him.”

_ “...Bait?” _ Yugo stated. _ “Did he just call our little brother BAIT?!” _

“Yuri would have no idea that Yuya Sakaki knows Pendulum summoning,” Reiji continues. “Once Yuya is able to defeat him, you will capture him before he tries to disappear. Then, the three of you will bring him to my office so he can be interrogated. While I interrogate him, one of you can dress up like Yuri to cause confusion upon Obelisk Force.”

_ “As if anyone would fall for _ that _ bullshit.” _Yuto stated.

“Ok first, while I admire your trust in Yuya, there is no guarantee that he can _ beat _Yuri,” stated Yuto.

“Second, there is no way in hell any of us can _ emulate _ Yuri,” stated Yugo. Yuri was kind of the only one who inherited Father’s sadism, sometimes to the point of being _ more _ sadistic than Father himself. Yugo and Yuto were sure no one would be fooled, not to mention Yuto would rather attack the Obelisk Force directly than try to command them. It wasn’t really _ that _solid of a plan. 

“Tell me, what was Yuri wearing on the night he kidnapped your friends?” Reiji asked.

“A black hooded cloak,” Yugo answered.

“But that won’t be enough to cover our identities,” Yuto noted. “Yuri plays _ Fusion _; the moment they see what we’re capable of, we’ll be caught.”

Reiji chuckled. “Which is why we hold Yuri hostage. If Obelisk Force wants him back, then they’re going to have to play by _ my _ terms.”

“And those are?” 

“They leave the Standard Dimension else we’ll have Shun use the same technology that he has been using to card LDS personnel on Yuri,” Reiji stated. “And if they don’t comply, maybe we can…”

At the sight of Reiji mimicking someone tearing a piece of paper in half, Yuto and Yugo had one single thought.

_ “Reiji Akaba is going to FUCKING DIE!” _

Yuto’s hand gripped Yugo’s shoulder, both had been frozen with a horrified expression on their faces. 

“What’s wrong?” Reiji questioned. “I thought the two of you _ wanted _ retribution on the one who kidnapped your friends.”

“We want answers, we don’t want to _ kill him _ !” Yugo replied. _ “Heartless bastard; all the Akabas are!” _

Reiji scoffed. 

“And that’s _ if _ Yuri doesn’t comply and answer your questions?” Yuto asked.

“Yes. After all, he is in a very high position is he not? He should have enough information about what my father is planning in his quest to conquer the dimensions,” Reiji replied. “And holding my father’s _ watchdog _ hostage should surely make him have second thoughts on whatever he’s planning.”

_ “Did he just implied that Yuri was a…” _

That did it. 

“Reiji,” Shun stated, taking a step forward just before Yugo was about to pounce on Reiji, claws and fangs extended. “What would be the point of killing him? Why not do what you did to those students that I dueled.”

Reiji paused. “You mean alter Yuri’s memories?”

“After we obtain the information needed, we make Yuri believe he’s been part of Standard the entire time, that he was enrolled in LDS as one of the top students in Fusion Summoning,” Shun elaborated. “Yuri doesn’t die and we get an ally for the Lancers. Kill two birds with one stone.”

(Yuto had no idea whether to thank Shun or claw his eyes out once this was over.)

“Yes I suppose that would be more beneficial to us, wouldn’t it?” Reiji said interlocking his fingers together, his glaces catching the light once more. 

_ “Yuri will be protected by Father, he wouldn’t be affected.” _thought Yugo. 

_ “No one else needs to know that,” _said Yuto. He was itching to hold his brothers right now; this whole conversation had been nerve racking and he needed his family’s comfort before he jumped out of a window or something. Yugo did as well, hands flicking in unease, and restlessness.

“If we all agree then, we have a plan,” stated Reiji. 

_ “Smug bastard,” _ thought Yugo in fury _ “He’s worse than the worst of the Tops.” _

_ “ _ I think this is enough for today,” said Reiji. “We’ll meet up again in two days to finalize everything. One of you should notify Yuya Sakaki, and _ only _ Yuya Sakaki about this plan.”

“Who else would we even tell?” Yuto asked sarcastically.

“Fair point,” said Reiji. “You are dismissed and I hope we will be able to work like this in the future.”

With a nod of his head, Shun headed off, Yuto and Yugo following him. Reira still kept her gaze upon the counterparts, trying to find any trace of darkness surrounding them. But there were none.

“Nii-san…” Reira whispered as Shun opened the door.

“Yes?” asked Reiji, looking down.

“...I don’t trust them,” Reira said as the three left the room and Nakajima closed the door.

***************

Isao Kachidoki vs Yaiba Todo could easily be described in two words.

Absolute destruction.

Yaiba never even had a chance to attack, not while Kachidoki made it his mission to beat the ever living crap out of the X-Saber duelist so that he could never pick up a sword or Duel Disk ever again. There was nothing but shock and horror from the audience as Yaiba was laid out on a stretcher and sent to the hospital, the Synchro Duelist’s hands trembling as he tried to pick up his sword, but failing to do so.

While Yuya never personally had a chance to interact with Yaiba aside from when Himika wanted to buy You Show Duel School for an absolutely petty reason (and Zarc had plans on giving that woman quite a scare for accusing Yuya of such a thing. How _ dare _ that woman unleash such underhanded tactics on his son!), Gongenzaka talked about how Yaiba was a good teacher to help him learn about Synchro Summoning. And given the reactions on Masumi and Hokuto’s faces, he could tell that the three of them were really good friends.

So it was quite a surprise when Yuya learned that he would be the one to face Kachidoki tomorrow, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to face off against someone with such an aggressive dueling style. There were looks of concern from Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Shuzo, the kids and Mieru, none of them unable to figure out how to cheer him up.

That was where Zarc came in. Kachidoki’s aggressive style of dueling made his blood boil. Fighting without honor or chivalry. Fighting and unleashing bloodshed without the audience in mind. Fighting like a savage beast…

This Kachidoki represented the worst of the worst of humanity. And if he had his way, he would give Kachidoki a taste of his own medicine.

For the time being, he watched as Yuya smiled and stood up, stating that he would just show off his dueling style to Kachidoki, making everyone else smile in response, cheering him on.

But what these humans did not know was that Yuya was hiding his nervousness with one of his large smiles on his face.

They did not know that deep down, Yuya was frightened at what would be his biggest challenge to date.

*************

Shun was staying at LDS tower, a room provided by Reiji. Yuto and Yugo were offered the same luxury but Yugo outright refused, Yuto was tempted -- if only to take a load off of Yoko -- but the need for his brothers by his side outweighed the little discomfort.

(And besides, why didn’t Reiji offer this to _ Yuya _? If Yuya found out about how his brothers were being treated like royalty but Reiji did not extend this hospitality to him, he’d be crushed!) 

Yugo stayed outside while Yuto and Shun talked in his room, making sure that Shun knew how to behave until further notice. Ten minutes later, the purple haired boy finally decided to leave, but not before he wrapped his arms around Shun’s neck and pulled him in for a searing kiss. Shun sighed contently closing his eyes as Yuto kissed him, and hugged Yuto closer. This warmth and comfort was what he _ craved _ after all. 

Ten seconds later, Yuto finally broke the kiss. “You’re mine, aren’t you?” he asked breathless, caressing Shun’s face. 

“Always…” Shun answered as he leaned into Yuto’s touch. His eyes closed in bliss, a small smile formed on his face. Yuto gave him another peck on his lips before heading to the door. 

"Yuto," Shun called, grabbing the lavender haired boy's hand gently. Yuto looked back at him with a questioning look. 

"Are you and Yugo alright?” Shun asked, eyes filled with concern. “You...seemed like you were gonna be sick at any mention of Reiji hurting this Yuri." 

Yuto sighed and held both of Shun's hands, rubbing circles on them with his thumbs. Shun's breath hitched as Yuto came closer. The older boy's eyes rolled to the back of his head as Yuto trailed down kisses on his neck. Shun gasped and clutched Yuto's shirt. 

"Y-Yuto…" he moaned, feeling nothing but pleasure with each and every kiss.

Yuto craned his neck up to whisper in Shun's ear as to not let Reiji hear if there was a camera around. Whispering a certain phrase that only Yuto, Shun and Ruri knew what it meant. Shun nodded, before shuddering when Yuto licked the shell of his ear. Finally, Yuto cupped Shun's face gently with both his hands. 

"I need to go now, my treasure. Behave for me until then," he whispered inches away from Shun's lips. The older boy nodded too in a daze of comfort and bliss to even _ think _ of disobeying. With one last kiss, Yuto let go of Shun and left the room, closing the door behind him.

It took a while before a single thought came to Shun’s mind while he laid on the bed. _ “Did Yuto just call me ‘treasure’? And...did I _ like _ being called a treasure?” _Shun’s cheeks turned crimson at the thought, before burying his head in the pillow. 

******************

With a nod of his head, Yuto and Yugo quickly left the LDS Tower where Yugo’s D-Wheel waited for them like a trusty steed. Yugo got on his D-wheel, and Yuto wrapped his arms around him, clinging to the other boy. “We’ll be home to Yuya soon,” he said reassuringly. Yuto nodded gratefully, a small smile on his face. He gripped on tightly, nuzzling his brother’s back, excited to be wrapped in Yuya’s arms. Yugo let out a breath, started his D-wheel up, and drove the two of them back home.

And as the two zipped through traffic Yuya had finally made it back home. After telling Yoko what happened at the stadium, he wasted no time entering his bedroom and looking up his opponent online. What he found was interesting, to say the least.

Isao Kachidoki came from the Ryozanpaku School, which was said to have the second highest turn-out of professional duelists. The first one being the Leo Duel School, of course.

However, Ryozanpaku School was said to be even _ more _ ruthless than Leo Duel School. The students were sent there by their parents and could not return to them until they were successful. And even worse, the school seemed more like a military training ground with the brutal training -- and brutal philosophy of knocking opponents down without giving them a chance to breathe and that the only thing that was important in life was victory -- they endured.

There was also the fact that not only was Kachidoki the top student of his school, and that he also ended up as the runner-up of last year’s tournament, losing to Leo Duel School’s own Yuu Sakuragi.

On his computer, Yuya continued to look through as much information as he could on his opponent and frowned. Kachidoki’s deck wasn’t his biggest concern; it was how to counterattack how Kachidoki wanted to cripple the opponent from obtaining any Action Cards that worried him.

Yuya, in nature, just wanted to use his dueling skills for fun. He only wanted to make people happy, just like Yusho did.

But after learning Yuto and Yugo’s backstories, he wasn’t sure if he could muster up the energy to give everyone a show. He couldn’t believe there was a school that could make people use Duel Monsters as _ weapons _and used it to card people, destroy lives and unleash utter destruction just because they could. That’s not what dueling is about! That’s not what it should be about!

A soft growl caused Yuya to snap out of his thoughts. The Pendulum duelist turned to his deck, seeing one of the cards glowing. He spread the cards out and pulled out the one that was calling out to him...Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

_ If only I knew what to do. _ He thought as he took the card into his hand. _ I don’t suppose _ you _ have any ideas as to how I’m going to defeat him, right? _

As he pondered this, Yugo and Yuto entered the Sakaki residence, both looking exhausted and worried. Yoko was making dinner, and her eyes widened at the state the two boys were in. She fussed over them for a few moments, both boys reassuring her that they were just fine. After she was convinced herself that yes both of these boys were physically okay, she ushered them to Yuya’s room, who had been back for a while.

Both of them entered Yuya’s room, closing the door behind them. Yuya looked back as they came in. Without a moment’s notice, he stood up from the chair and went to his brothers hugging them tightly and sensing the heavy emotions in their hearts. 

The three of them fell together in each other’s arms into the nest. Yuto hugged Yuya to himself, and nuzzled his neck, Yugo came closer, the red and green haired boy wrapped his arms around the blue eyed boy. 

Yugo kissed Yuya’s cheek softly, and Yuto placed a loving lingering kiss to the younger boy’s forehead. Yuya could tell that something had happened to his older brothers. He hugged Yugo closer, running his hand up and down his back. Yuto placed a kiss on the back of Yuya’s neck, before nuzzling him, and letting out a content sigh. 

Father had finally returned now that they were in the nest. Zarc sent feelings of love, comfort, and possession, trying to suppress his anger at Reiji Akaba, and rather focused on his boys’ comfort. The three of them gasped when they felt his voice in their minds.

** _This has been a rather tiring day..._ ** Zarc murmured. ** _Gathering allies and information for when Yuri returns to us..._ **

Yuto nodded his head. _ “I can’t believe what Reiji wanted to do to our brother. He’s...he’s…” _

_ “He’s exactly like his father,” _ Yugo added. _ “No...he’s _ worse _ than that!” _He hugged his brothers closer to him.

Upon hearing the hate laced in Yugo’s tone of voice, Yuya tilted his head. _ “What happened? What did Reiji want to do with Yuri? He...he’s not going to hurt him, right?” _

The two older brothers exchanged a look, not sure how they wanted to tell Yuya what would happen. They already knew how hurt Yuya was two nights ago... 

** _Reiji is planning to use you and your brothers to capture Yuri. _ ** Zarc stated. ** _He wants you to duel Yuri and win, before your brothers ambush him, taking him hostage, and then after extracting as much information from him. After Yuri has spilled everything he can, Reiji will brainwash him into becoming his ally and make him believe he was nothing more than a student in LDS instead of remembering who he truly is. _ **

“W...what?” Yuya said in disbelief.

“And that’s the _ better _option,” said Yuto with a sigh. 

“It was either that or carding him and threatening to rip his card in half,” Yugo growled. He knew that Yuri could be a pain in the ass, but this was a line that _ Yuri _ wouldn’t cross.

Yuya couldn’t believe it; Reiji Akaba would stoop that low to hurt him and his family?!

“T...that’s the plan?” Yuya asked. Yuto and Yugo nodded their heads. “No...no, no, no! We can’t let him do this! _ He can’t do this to Yuri _!” Yuya started panicking, tears forming in his eyes. As if learning of the troubles Yuto and Yugo had gone through was bad enough... 

“Yuya,” Yuto whispered, trying to calm his brother down. 

“First he tries to take You Show Duel school away, and now he wants to take _ our brother away _!” Yuya sobbed, clinging onto Yuto tighter. “It’s not fair...what did we ever do to deserve this?!”

** _It won’t happen like that, precious. _ ** said Zarc, running his hand through Yuya’s hair. ** _I won’t let that happen, my love, trust me. _ ** Waves of love and affection went through all the boys making them shiver and melt in each other and their father’s embrace. ** _Our beloved Yuri will return to us safe and sound, and if we have to trick another Akaba into believing what he wants to believe then so be it. _ **

Zarc ran a hand through Yuto’s hair making him gasp, eyes glassy and lowered halfway as he hugged Yuya closer to his chest, Yugo along with him. Waves of affection and love from the boys themselves echoed through their own and Zarc’s minds, making the boys gasp and moan happily. 

** _That’s it my loves, take comfort from each other, _ ** He kissed Yugo’s forehead, making the blue haired boy press more to Yuya. ** _Soon, all five of us would be reunited. _ **

The three were panting by that point, unable to create a single coherent thought, let alone words from the warmth and pleasure from their Father. A gentle push from Zarc made all three of them lie down in their nest snuggling and happy, no thought or worry in their heads. Only comfort, love, possessiveness, happiness. Worrying thoughts can wait for later. Better yet, Zarc would take care of them. 

He did wish he could keep his little ones this happy all the time, he ran a hand through Yuya’s hair, making the youngest child sigh. The three of them fell into a light sleep, wrapped in each other’s loving embrace. 

It was two hours later that Yoko had called the boys in for dinner, waking the three up. Zarc kissed Yuya’s cheek as he sat up, making the boy sighed happily. He shook Yuto and Yugo awake, both getting a kiss from their Father as well, before they went downstairs to have their dinner. 

************* 

Dinner was okay, barring the strangeness Yoko noticed when Yuya tried to pet En and En returning the gesture with a snarl. When Yuto and Yugo tried to copy Yuya’s gesture, En started barking loudly leading Yoko to drag him outside so he didn’t cause a ruckus. Once dinner was done and they helped wash dishes, the brothers returned to Yuya’s room to have a talk about today’s events.

“So,” Yuya began. “What else did you accomplish today?”

“We met up with Shun,” Yuto began, smiling softly at how he made Shun his. He would make sure to protect him, treasure him, keep him in his claws forever and ever. No one would take Shun away from him. “And he is now a loyal ally to our cause.”

“We also noticed Reiji’s little brother able to sense Father’s presence,” Yugo added.

Yuya’s eyes widened. “Are we sure that’s safe? I know Reira is timid, but he’s also an amazing duelist. He was able to use two summoning methods in the tournament -- Fusion and Synchro. And he’s connected to Reiji...”

Yuto and Yugo exchanged nervous looks. “Father simply disappeared from us after a while. We’re not sure what Reira sensed or knows. And Reiji was suspicious enough how we were able to make up so quickly,” Yuto stated.

“We apparently had _ way _more information than we should, what with knowing Yuri’s name right off the bat and all.” said Yugo. “I think we were able to throw him off our scent, but who knows? The guy seems way too crafty.” 

“I know,” Yuya stated, recalling how Reiji wanted to take away his father’s -- Yusho’s -- duel school after it was assumed that he attacked Shingo when it was really Yuto’s doing. Yuto sent an apology through the mental link and hugged Yuya tighter; he never meant to get Yuya involved in his crusade against Academia.

Yuya sighed and shook his head, smiling softly at his brother and sending him reassurance and love back through their bond. He understood, and he forgave his brother long ago.

“Anything on your end?” Yugo asked.

Yuya smiled. “I also have an ally of our own,” he said. “Her name is Mieru Hochun, and she is a fortune-teller who will help us locate Yuri when he finally sets foot in the Standard Dimension.”

The Synchro and Xyz users grinned at the news. But their smiles faded when they sensed Yuya’s apprehension and fear. 

“What’s wrong, Yuya?” Yuto asked, noticing the image of Isao Kachidoki on Yuya’s computer.

Yuya sighed. “That’s my opponent tomorrow. And he’s absolutely ruthless!”

“As ruthless as Father?” asked Yugo.

“No, Father is still more so than anything these humans are capable of,” Yuya answered. 

“So what’s the problem then?” Yugo asked, and Yuya sighed. 

“Father...he always dueled to entertain the crowd,“ he explained, recalling the days when they watched their Father perform in his Action Duels at how he would smile when riding his dragons in battle. “Blood thirsty as they may be, Father still performed for them. And his opponents always were adults that can handle it. Kachidoki is just violent for the sake of it, no entertainment for anyone at all -- just sadistic fighting and wanting the opponent to be crippled just because he could.”

Yuya shook his head, recalling Yaiba futilely trying to reach for his kendo stick but failing. “And from the looks of it, Yaiba might not be able to pick up his sword again...I saw the look in the eyes of his friends. They were _ horrified _ ! I may not like the students at Leo Duel School, but I would _ never _ wish that type of pain on them if that happened to one of my friends! What Kachidoki unleashed...that is _ not _the dueling that I believe in, Yugo…” he gave a tired sigh, and Yugo looked at him understandingly. 

Yuto hugged him from behind, and kissed his cheek. “You got this, Yuya,” he said with a soft smile that Yuya mirrored. “I still have to find a way to beat him though,” the red eyed boy muttered.

He then motioned his brothers towards the monitor. “See this?” said Yuya, pointing to a Fusion Monster next to Kachidoki’s picture -- Idaten the Conqueror Star. Yuto snarled at the card’s purple border, still having trouble with seeing Fusion monsters as an ally…he hoped this hatred died down once Starved Venom is with them again. “Look at this monster’s effect.” Yuya said. caressing Yuto’s face to give him some comfort. 

“It says that the effect works based on the level of the monster it battles,” Yugo said after mouthing out the words a couple of times. A part of him felt bad that it took him that long to read it. It wasn’t particularly his fault; he learned most of his reading skills by reading card descriptions.

“Yeah,” Yuya sighed.

“The level of the monster it battles…” Yugo repeated.

“Mm-hmm…”

Yugo almost whacked Yuya across the head; how was he supposed to make Yuya understand what he was trying to tell him? Then, it clicked.

“Yuto,” he said. “Can you show Yuya Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon?”

“Why should I...ohhh...I see what you mean!” Yuto grabbed his deck, retrieving his beloved Dark Rebellion, and showed him to Yuya. When Yuya touched the card, the three heard Dark Rebilon’s screech welcoming them, and they heard Odd-Eyes and Clear Wing also return the screech with their own. Once Yuya noticed the four black stars on the top left corner of the card, it didn’t take for him to finally realize...Dark Rebellion doesn’t have a level; therefore the effect of Idaten the Conqueror Star would be useless! There was only one problem with this though...

“I need an Xyz monster,” Yuya stated, remembering how to Xyz Summon thanks to Yuto’s lessons but not having a monster in his Extra Deck that he could Xyz Summon.

“You need an Xyz monster,” Yugo confirmed. “But how do we get one before tomorrow morning?”

Just as he said that, they heard Zarc chuckle in their minds.

** _I think I have just the thing for you, my Shooting Star. Consider it a gift. Now Yuya, listen carefully. Close your eyes and picture a mirror in your mind. Then, approach the mirror and look at your reflection, black as midnight, covered in darkness. Place your hand through the looking glass, imagining that it is like water, and pull the reflection out. _ **

** _With your reflection, create the dragon you wish to summon into battle. Twist this shapeless darkness, bend it to your will. This is your creation, this is your power that will rise onto the surface, reflecting your true strength!_ **

Yuya nodded his head as he did what Father asked him to do. In his mind’s eye, he saw a mirror with a wrought iron frame and a reflection shrouded in shadows. With a gentle hand, Yuya placed it through said looking glass and pulled his reflection out. The reflection didn’t struggle as Yuya set to work, watching the darkness become molded in his hands, transforming it into a powerful dragon of his choosing, shaping its wings and body like the frame of the mirror and its eyes like cracked glass.

With each and every movement of his hands, the body began to expand. Its wings spread out like branches of a tree. Its scales were jagged metal sharp enough to leave cuts on one’s palm. Its teeth looked capable of tearing one’s arm off. But despite this, Yuya could see his reflections in the dragon’s eyes and find that it wasn’t malevolent. Malevolent looking, yes, but its soul was still pure.

In the real world, tendrils of light formed in Yuya’s hand that coalesced into an Xyz card. The boys’ eyes widened as they watched the light dim down, revealing Yuya’s new creation. _ Black Mirror Xyz Dragon. _

“Wow,” breathed Yuto. He could hear Dark Rebellion roar in pride at having a little brother.

“It’s beautiful Yuya, Father,” said Yugo in wonder.

Zarc chuckled. ** _Oh, I’m glad you think so, my Crystal. _ **He patted Yuya’s head, making the red eyed boy lean into it, eyes closed with bliss, a huge smile on his face. 

“Thank you, Father.”

** _Anything for you, my beloved treasures. _ **

While the new monster helped calm him down, Yuya was still feeling nervous. How could he use this dragon while still adhering to his dueling philosophy? He didn’t know how to combine these clashing ideals and it made it feel like his mind was going to split in half! It scared him. Even looking at his new monster which he made, he didn’t even know he was capable of making such a thing. Could he really do it? Was he strong enough or even good enough to do it? 

“Yuya,” Yugo and Yuto called still sensing the hesitation and seeing the pain in their little brother’s face. They hugged him close, and Zarc ran a hand through his hair. 

** _You are strong, my shooting star. _ ** Zarc affirmed him. ** _I know you. I know that when you set your mind to it, nothing can stop you. You shine as bright as the stars themselves; you will show everyone what you are capable of. My Prince of Pendulum, show everyone your majesty. _ **

“Father,” he breathed out, amazed at his father’s trust and love in him. How could he ever truly compare anything else to his father’s undying and devoted love?

“I won’t let you down Father. Never let you or my brothers down, I swear it, I swear,” Yuya promised to Yuto, to Yugo, to Zarc.

All three of them gasped as their father’s love crashed upon their minds, sensing the pride and glee, the love and possessiveness and wonder that these beautiful wonderful _ perfect _boys were truly his, only his, forever would be his. And they returned Zarc’s happiness with their own, their mental links delivering promises that they were his beloved, loyal, obedient, strong, confident sons. Nothing will stand in their way to fulfil his will. Nothing will stop them from reuniting as a family. No one will get in their way from stealing their treasures.

Rin and Ruri will return to Yuto and Yugo. Shun would be protected from Academia’s rampage.

Yuzu and Gongenzaka will always stay by Yuya’s side. Mieru would help predict any and all troubles that would come their way.

Yoko would be a loving and supportive mother to these three and to Yuri when they finally met.

And Yuri, their precious lily, the missing piece of this perfect little family, will soon remember his past life and weep tears of joy at finally, _ finally _ knowing what it means to be loved after this life tossed him aside and left him to rot. 

They will get their revenge on the Akabas that separated them, took away those beloved to them, made them fight each other and almost kill one another. Yes, they would pay. _ All of them will pay with their fucking lives. _

Yes, everything would be just _ perfect. _

** _Now my precious ones, it’s time to rest. It has truly been an emotional and tiring day for all of us, and it’s a big day tomorrow for our Yuya. Off to the nest now._ **

The three boys sighed, their minds had been already overwhelmed with their father’s emotions, they had no trouble obeying that little command. They snuggled close, wrapping each other in their arms. They fell asleep quickly, having truly been exhausted emotionally by the day. Into a dream world of the past weaved by their father’s hands. 

Or at least...that was the plan until Zarc realized something.

** _My sons! _ ** He gasped. ** _I just remembered something very important._ **

The three of them were at attention immediately, having heard the urgency in their father’s voice.

“Father?” Yuto asked.

** _En-Moon is now in this dimension. _ ** Zarc explained. ** _She and Yuzu made eye contact for a moment, but I think she is most likely here for one thing, my Specter._ **

That made Yuto freeze. En-Moon was here because he and Shun escaped the Xyz Dimension...she was going to duel them and _ card them _…

No. En-Moon will force his treasure away from him! En-Moon is going to separate him _ from his precious treasure _! He can’t lose Shun; he already lost Ruri to the forces of Academia. He can’t lose Shun to them either!

As Yuto growled, one could hear the sound of thunder rumbling outside the Sakaki Residence. Yuya and Yugo’s head turned to the window as they saw lightning flash, illuminating Yuto’s enraged features, giving him an ethereal look of vengeance and wrath, it would be scary if it didn’t look so beautiful, the way Yuto looked more and more like a dragon ready to guard its horde from any foolish knight who thought they could enter his domain unannounced and unabashedly insensitive to the dragon’s desires to be left alone. 

No. No. NO NO NO!!!!

“I won’t let her take him!” Yuto roared, fangs growing, nails morphed into razor-sharp claws, eyes glowing in a cyan light. “I WON’T LET EN-MOON TAKE SHUN AWAY FROM ME!!!”

“Yuto,” Yuya breathed out in wonder. He’s never seen his brother this enraged before. 

** **“I WON’T LOSE ANYONE AGAIN TO THE LIKES OF ACADEMIA!!!” Yuto screamed, scales forming over his face. “NEVER EVER AGAIN!!!”

Yuto kept panting, feeling the anger rise in his chest. He couldn’t let that happen; he couldn’t lose his treasure. He was going to _ kill _ En-Moon for daring to come here just when Yuto found some peace of mind!

As these thoughts raced in his mind, both Yuya and Yugo looked in concern as to how to calm Yuto down as more and more black and violet scales formed over his arms and a pair of horns rose from the top of his hair. Then, without thinking, Yuya approached Yuto just about to fully transform into his draconic form...

And kissed him. 

The red eyed boy wrapped his arms around Yuto’s neck, pressing himself closer to Yuto. The older boy was too in shock, surprised at Yuya’s actions, his mind went blank, all rage forgotten in the surprise. He went lax in his brother’s arms, his claw like hands wrapped themselves around Yuya’s waist bringing him closer. Tilting his head for a better kiss, he closed his eyes, letting out a breath through his nose.

Yuya broke the kiss, looking adoringly at Yuto, who was still half transformed. “Beautiful,” he whispered, nuzzling to Yuto’s chest. “So _ beautiful _.” And Yuto couldn’t help but hug Yuya closer and running his hand through his hair. 

“That was… certainly something,” said Yugo, lost for words. 

Yuto looked down, noticing the scales and then patting his head to feel his horns. He looked in horror as the transformation began to recede.

“I’m...I’m sorry, I lost control for a second,” he stammered, sitting back down. 

“Good job Yuya, you just tamed a raging dragon,” Yugo teased. The red eyed boy was still nuzzling his brother’s chest, a happy smile on his face. 

“We understand your pain, Yuto,” Yuya whispered. “If you were taken away from me, I’d react like that too.”

“So would I,” Yugo agreed, images of Rin flashing through his mind. “We should go see Shun tomorrow and warn him about En-Moon’s plan.” 

“Y-yeah, we should,’ Yuto said, still in a daze from the kiss. It felt like he was struck by lightning.

** _En-Moon is after both of you, my Specter,_ ** said Zarc running his hand through Yuto’s hair. ** _I assume that she learned about you two being here thanks to one person._ **

“Sora…” Yuya whispered.

And then, he felt the rage in his heart at how his _ friend _, the one who constantly called him Sempai, who wormed his way into his house and mother’s heart with his cute looks, who mocked and belittled Shun, Yuto and the Xyz Dimension…

This is all Sora’s fault. This is all his _ fucking fault _ that En-Moon is in this dimension now with a chance to hurt Yuto and make him lose his treasure!

Who cares if Sora wanted to be his student? Who cares that he taught Yuzu Fusion Summoning? Who gives a _ damn _about that little cockroach after Yuya now knew what he truly was?!

He felt Yugo embrace him from behind, he was now back between his brothers’ arms

But the fires in his heart were not quenched. No, they felt like they were going to burn Yuya from the inside out. It hurt, it hurt….it goddamn _ hurt _and he was so mad and angry at Sora and he wanted to burn him to a crisp and everything Academia stood for!

Gritting his teeth, Yuya could feel his own transformation coming. Claws, horns and blood red scales formed around his arms and neck as he thought about seeing Sora, tearing him into pieces, roasting them and then gnawing on his bones like how Sora bit through that _ disgustingly _sweet lollipop he carried on hand!

** _Yuya, do not let your inner rage consume you. _ ** Zarc stated, knowing what was happening. ** _One dragon outburst from one of you is enough. Little one, your revenge will come soon enough. _ **

“But...but…” Yuya sniffled. “It’s not fair, Father! I just wanted to make people smile, and Sora...I considered him my friend and...and...!”

He just sobbed into his brothers arms as his rage slowly fizzled out. He took in some deep breaths as Yuto patted his shoulder.

** _Yuto, Yuya...focus on that energy, that anger, that hatred and fear, form it. Give it shape and purpose. _ **

Yuto and Yuya clasped hands, channeling that energy of fire and shadows from their hearts, picturing a dragon that represented these feelings. How they were ready to burn down anyone that would take away their treasures and how those foolish to stop them will become nothing but ashes.

** _Say the chant that will bring this monster to life. _ **Zarc commanded.

Yuto and Yuya nodded, their eyes glowing like water and fire as their voices combined with their father’s to create this brand new monster.

**“Dragon with dual colored eyes! Resurrect from the deep darkness and burn everything in the world with flames of anger! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 7! The blazing dragon called by calamity!** ** _ Supreme King Violent Dragon - Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon_ ** **!”**

The roars of Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion rang in their ears as a burst of fire and darkness formed in the palm of Yuya and Yuto's hands before they rose into the air and swirled round and round in a black and red spiral. 

After a few seconds, the flaming spiral burned away revealing itself as a card that fell into Yuya and Yuto’s hands: a Pendulum Xyz monster that looked similar to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon but more demonic in appearance. The three boys looked in wonder at the new card, jaws slack, eyes wide. Yuto and Yuya just...created … this… 

After the shock and wonder faded, Yugo groaned. “Man, now _ both _of you get new cards,” he pouted. “I want new awesome monsters too!” 

At this, Yuto, Yuya and Zarc couldn’t help but laugh at seeing the expression on Yugo’s face. 

** _All in good time, my crystal. _ ** Zarc promised, wrapping his arms around Yugo. The blue haired boy still pouted even though he felt Zarc nuzzle his neck. Zarc sighed again. ** _I’ve kept you all from resting, I apologize, my loves. Now we will deal with the rest tomorrow. But Yuto, I need you to _ ** **not ** ** _kill En-Moon._ **

“What?! But why?” Yuto asked surprised

** _Because she is like Rin, Ruri and Yuzu. While she and Yuri might not have the relationship you three have with these girls, there is simply no need to kill her when she has the potential of being useful. Perhaps if we find out why she’s going after you and Shun, we can use it to our advantage. She must be close to Akaba as well, with him keeping an eye on her all the time, being a precious piece in his plans. _ **

_ “If she even tries to go after Shun, I -- “ _

** _She won’t. I believe there is a high chance that Reiji will have sensed her presence sooner or later. Let him deal with her, just alert Shun about her tomorrow._ **

“I...Yes, father,” Yuto said, lowering his head in submission and loyalty. He knew better than to go against Father’s words 

** _Good boy. _ ** Zarc whispered, kissing Yuto on the forehead. ** _Now, off to bed. All three of you._ **

“Yes father,” His sons reply as they felt a pulse of darkness make them fall into the nest, minds drifting into the dream Zarc weaved before he woke them up with the startling news. Smiles formed on their faces as moonlight shone on their slumbering figures.

Tomorrow would be a big day for all of them.

And they were going to need every ounce of strength for what happened next.


	5. Chapter 5 (Part 1): A Horror Movie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoko Sakaki demands Zarc to show himself, Yuto and Shun bond, and Yuya unleashes darkness in his duel against Kachidoki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, we're back... 
> 
> So two things. 
> 
>   
First of all this chapter totally spiraled out of control, we had to split it into 2 parts. So don't worry you'll get the second part soon. 
> 
> Second: We -Green_Phantom_Queen and I- absolutely regret nothing. Not a thing. 
> 
> You'll see what I mean.

Yuya, once again, had been the one to wake up first, his heart full of anticipation and anxiety, and just a bit of stage fright. It was still a little too early to even start getting ready, but Yuya found himself unable to go back to sleep. Nuzzled securely between his two brothers he looked at the ceiling, not sure what else to do.

** _Yuya?_ **

Yuya didn’t seemed shocked to hear his Father be so concerned for him.  _ “Papa,”  _ he thought back, and Zarc started running his hand through Yuya’s hair gently, making Yuya let out a sigh. 

** _My shooting Star, You don’t need to worry about a thing. _ **

_ “I know, but ...I still am,”  _ he felt a little ashamed, for not living up to Father’s full expectations, and bit his lip. 

** _Oh my Yuya. _ ** Zarc whispered before getting a thought to calm his little son down.  ** _Precious star, do you remember our garden at night? _ ** asked Zarc as he ran his claws lightly through Yuya’s hair making him shudder. Zarc releasing waves of love and comfort that Yuya soaked in happily, giving a dreamy sigh, he gasped as Zarc touched a particular spot on his head, and moaned. 

_ “At night….”  _ Yuya breathed before memories started coming back to him.  _ “Yeah, I remember,”  _ he whispered with a dreamy smile, as his eyes glaze over, his body completely relaxed.

…

…

...

_ The garden was beautiful in the morning’s light, but it was simply breathtaking at night, especially at nights of the full moon. He remembered the silver white flowers that only bloom at night, how their fragrance was simply intoxicating to the senses, how they seemed like they glowed in the moonlight, and the fireflies that added more lights to the already starlet garden. _

_ The five of them would lay down and watch the stars, shouting out constellation names or gasping whenever a shooting star streaked the sky, while lying in Father’s warm embrace. Yugo always was the one who boasted he can make shooting stars fall just by pointing at the sky, counting all the way down to 0 and then with a downward stroke of that pointer finger...ZIP! Stars would fall down on his command. The others tried to copy his trick, but they were unable to replicate his feat. _

_ He remembered as Yuto would nuzzle to him and whisper in Yuya’s ear to catch him. The garden filled with shadows only lit by streams of moonlight filtered through the treetops. Yuto was very very good at hiding in the dark, the best of all four of his brothers. Yuya never found him whenever they played at night, though. That was due to how Yuto could sink into the shadows and pop up in the last place Yuya checked, Yuto’s giggles sounded and echoed everywhere, and after Yuya gave up in finding him, Yuto would finally jump at him from behind and wrap his arms around his younger brother, whispering that he won, and nuzzled Yuya’s neck happily.  _

_ Of course, Yuya also had tricks of his own. Being the one who wanted to follow Father’s footsteps, it made sense for Yuya to dress up and put on shows for his family. Power of illusions, and the powers to change his shape into any and all creatures in a blink of an eye. It simply made the most beautiful of shows, and Father was always proud of him, his brothers always cheered him on. Fellow Duel Monsters applauded whenever Yuya would perform for them. Was it any wonder that all of his Performapal monsters were just different creatures who were inspired to join Yuya’s dream of one day parading the lands with his own circus?  _

_ And Yuya remembered Yuri taking Yugo’s hand and dancing under the moonlight as Father would sing them a sweet tone or song. Yuya sighed contently at the memories. He also remembered Yuri dipping Yugo, and the Synchro user's face would go red, and frown ready to protest but would lose the will to fight every time as soon as Yuri kissed him. Yugo would close his eyes and Yuri would lower him to the soft green grass beneath them. Yuri would break the kiss and, to Yugo's embarrassment, he would whine and shudder, cheeks red, panting slightly, and Yuri would lick his lips in satisfaction. _

_ It was always Yuri's favorite game; to get a rise out of Yugo, but getting him flustered was the ultimate achievement in Yuri's eyes. Yugo would call him a bastard and chase him around, wither it be the garden or the castle or even the forest. And it was alway Father who broke the ‘fight’ by grabbing Yugo, and restraining him in his arms. He would always playfully chastise Yuri for teasing his brother, and Yuri would have that ‘innocent’ smile on his face as if he did nothing wrong. Father always laughed, amused at Yuri’s antics and was never serious at all, nor --Yuya thinks-- he ever wanted Yuri to stop. Father would keep Yugo in his arms or his lap way after the boy had calmed down. But it was only game over when Yuri approaches Yugo and gently kisses his hand, lips lengaring and loving.  _

With each and every memory, Yuya hugged his brothers closer to him. Yuto nuzzled to his neck, and Yugo hugged him back. Yuya smiled reminiscing these sweet moments...Yuri, he’d missed his oldest brother so much…

** _Do not cry, my star. _ ** Zarc whispered, wiping away the tears falling down Yuya’s face.  ** _Our lily will return to our arms soon, I promise you that. _ **

Yuya nodded his head as more and more loving memories came back to him. He didn’t remember which one he was on until he felt his eyes grow heavy and he fell asleep once more, a smile on his face. Two hours later, his alarm clock sounded, waking him and his brothers from their own peaceful sleep.

Reluctantly, Yuya wiggled his way out of Yuto and Yugo’s embrace and slammed his hand on the alarm clock. He started shaking his brothers awake. Yuto and Yugo groaned and whined, fighting against consciousness for just another minute of sleep. Yuto gave a sigh and used his elbow to prop himself up, ran his hand through his hair, and groaned. 

“We have to get up, don’t we?” he grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

** _If you want to save your little treasure from Academia, then yes. _ **

Yuto didn’t argue with that and he, Yugo and Yuya quickly got dressed (Yugo was happy that his riding suit was bright and shiny now) and raced downstairs for breakfast. They all ate breakfast in a hurry, Yuya being excited for his duel, Yuto anxious about En-Moon’s attack and Shun’s safety...and Yugo being his normal Yugo fast-eating self. Yoko looked at all three of them happily devouring her homemade pancakes, a little worried. 

She wasn’t a fool, especially after what she observed two days ago. The shattering of glasses and plates and dark winds? En snarling at Yuya when he was always happy to be cuddled and picked up? The trance? The way the boys chanted to “Reunite”? This all meant that some big change was coming to Yuya...and not in a good way.

Her son didn’t seem to have changed however; usually there would be little hints -- or obvious ones -- that there was a change. But from what she saw from Yuya, he was still the happy child that wanted everyone to smile in public. After everything she experienced, she was wondering what was the next change that was coming for him. 

(Knowing the formula, it most likely was going to be something involving his wardrobe which usually happens when people get possessed. Suddenly they have some obsession with wearing black and placing white makeup on their faces)

Still, if there was another thing she learned from horror films, is that if you ignored the supernatural stuff that happened then nine times out of ten it ends with you dead within the last ten minutes of the tale. Yoko was no fool; she wasn’t like those horrified waifs in the films who seemed to be oblivious to everything that was surrounding them to the point that she wished she could go into the films themselves and say, “STOP BEING STUPID AND PAY ATTENTION, YOU FOOL!”

But she still had to be careful. She had no idea what she was against, if it’s hurting her sons, or if it would hurt her. She needed to be subtle, and once she figured out how to help, she would do everything in her power to do so.

As Yuya finished his pancakes, Yoko asked, “Yuya...are you feeling okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, just a bit anxious about the duel today, that’s all,” he said, looking down at the syrup covered plate in front of him.

“Yuya,” Yoko sighed, knowing her son long enough to know that he was stating that to avoid talking about what was really bugging him. “I know your father was always talking about smiling through it all, but there’s a limit. If there’s anything that’s bothering you, don’t hesitate to tell me.” She then took a glance at Yuto, who also looked worried. “And that includes you too, Yuto, Yugo.”

Both boys snapped their heads looking at her in surprise, they blinked as she gave them a sympathetic look.

“You must be worried about your loved ones, aren’t you?” she said. “I may not understand what it’s like to be in your shoes, but just remember that I’m here if you need anything. Even if it’s only minor, is there anything I can do for you?”

_ “Should we tell her?”  _ asked Yuto.  _ “I don’t...want to risk her being carded. Yuya, you already have to deal with your father’s disappearance.” _

_ “I...I don’t know...if we told her she might try to get involved, and might get hurt then…”  _ Yuya said. _ “And I...I haven’t told Yuzu about that night yet. She’s worried about you, Yuto.” _

Yuto gave Yuya a worried look, worried about Yuzu as well, and grateful for her empathy. She didn’t even know him and Shun all that well, and yet she worried about him like that...He was starting to feel guilty, like he was becoming a burden, on Yuzu, on Yoko, on his brothers.

** _You’re not a burden, my phantom. _ ** Zarc whispered, sensing Yuto’s guilt.  ** _I know that you have feelings for Yuzu, and how this girl showed compassion for you and your treasure’s plight. But you know the powers of her bracelet; getting close to her will only cause more and more trouble. Who knows what would’ve happened if she arrived when I reunited with you?_ **

Yuto didn’t want to think about that, if one single thing had changed, not only might they not have had their father back, but things might have become in a word...a disaster. Yuto gave a sigh. 

_ “Well, if Yuzu and Yoko didn’t know what to be aware of...wouldn’t that put them in even  _ more  _ danger?”  _ asked Yugo. 

_ “....” _

_ “At the very least, give Yoko-san the basics. She deserves that at the very least.” _

After some debating, Yuto swallowed. “I...I’m worried that a friend of mine is going to get hurt.”

Yoko blinked, but didn’t sound so surprised. “A friend?”

Yuto nodded. “My friend, and comrade, Shun...Academia might be here soon, and I’m...I’m scared of losing him so much.” 

“Shun...wait...the same person who dueled Sora two days ago?! Shun Kurosaki of Leo Duel School?!  _ That _ Shun?”

“ _ That _ Shun,” Yuto answered. He wished he was truly a phantom so he could sink into the floor at how Yoko looked in disbelief.

“That doesn’t make sense,” she said. “If you and Shun hail from the Xyz Dimension, how did Shun apply to the Leo Duel School so swiftly? Better yet, everything Shun mentioned in his duel...all of it was…”

Everything was starting to not make sense; that’s what it felt like in horror movies. When the main character starts piecing together things that didn’t make any logical sense with the new information given to them and questioning why they were learning this/why they didn’t learn this sooner.

“And what about Sora?” Yoko asked, realizing that Sora had not appeared in the past two days, asking to eat some of her homemade pancakes. The way he sounded much more aggressive in defeating Shun, the twisted smile on his face that was uncharacteristic of him. Not to mention how Yuya, Yuto and Yugo reacted to him. “What happened to him?! Where is he?”

“Sora…is...he’s part of Academia,” Yuya said, balling his hands into fists, tears of rage threatening to fall down his face. “He was...one of the people to attack Yuto’s home. He just...he  _ pretended  _ to be mine and Yuzu’s friend…”

“So he...also took advantage of my kindness, didn’t he?” Yoko asked, voice soft. 

Yuya nodded, remembering how Sora used his innocent looks to charm his mother for her attention and cooking. 

Yokok bowed her head and soon enough she was mirroring her son’s motions of balling her hands into fists. But instead of tears in her eyes, she furrowed her brow and grit her teeth.

“That little...tsk,” Yoko had rage in her piercing green eyes, thinking of what she was told. She wasn’t like a terrified maiden in the horror films. Now she was the very pissed off mother who wanted to tell the ghost who possessed her son to  _ get the fuck away from him or she will exorcise its ass _ . 

** _Interesting..._ ** Zarc mused, noticing the reaction on Yoko’s face.  ** _Yuya, I think it would be wise if you let me speak to her._ **

_ “W...what?!”  _ Yuya gasped _ . “F-father, you can’t be serious!”  _

** _I quite am, little one. _ **

_ “...Oh gods she’s gonna try to exorcise you…”  _ Yuya thought matter of factly.

** _...What?_ **

_ “My mother likes horror stuff, remember? So if she found out you were possessing me, she’d try to force you out! I think she’s already suspicious about you already.” _

“Yuya,” Yoko called, snapping him out of the conversation. Her voice was no longer concerned. It was firm like she was physically gripping his shoulder to make sure he didn’t run off. “You realize I’m not blind, right? The times you would go silent, or exchange looks with your brothers, or even looking behind your back at something that’s not there… “ She sighed. “Dear...I think it’s time to be honest with me...all of you should, because it seems like quite the dangerous things that you are going through and no 14 year old  _ child _ should be tasked to deal with any of this.”

“So would you like to start telling the truth, or need I assume the worst? Because I’ve already seen the worst with that little ‘Reunite’ stunt you did two days ago...” 

Before anyone could say something, Yuya’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed onto his side.

“Yuya?!” Yoko gasped, picking up a knife and approaching her son, slowly, carefully. “Yuya, what’s going -- “

And that’s when she saw it.

Instead of those beautiful red eyes like a sunset, her son’s eyes were golden like the afternoon sun. But unlike the sun, the eyes looked so...haunting and filled with malicious intent. Like a dark phantom sealed away within the chambers of a tomb wishing to be let loose and to enact its vengeance on anyone in its path.

Yuto and Yugo shivered as they watched their Father slowly rise up. Yoko placed herself between her son and Yuto and Yugo, knife ready. And if need be, she was ready to bash the demon’s head in with Yuya’s empty plate or the pitcher of water right next to it.

“That depends...Yoko Sakaki, what is your definition of ‘The worst’?” Yuya answered but his voice sounded deeper, more foreboding.

Yoko’s green eyes narrowed at her son, or rather whatever was possessing him. “That you are going to hurt my son in ways that I cannot comprehend,” she began. “Or you seduced him to the dark side, or you’re threatening to make him hurt his loved ones…I can go on and on and on if you want.”

Zarc chuckled. “My, my, my. When I first laid eyes on you, I was expecting the worst out of you too. But that little display when I destroyed your fine china proved me wrong.”

“Yes, about that,” Yoko said crossing her arms . “Do you have any idea how much money it cost to replace everything?” When Zarc said nothing, she sighed. “Whatever. What is it you want? And why have you possessed my son and Yuto and Yugo?!”

“I have no body of my own, my spirit has been split into four pieces. One for each of my sons,” Zarc explained, Yuya’s hand placed over his heart.

“I’m sorry, _four_ _sons_?” Yoko looked at Yuya, then at Yugo and Yuto who weren’t meeting her eyes. “Are you saying that Yuya is...one of _your _sons?! That’s impossible!”

Zarc narrowed his eyes. “Tell me, Yoko Sakaki...do you have any memory of actually being  _ pregnant  _ with Yuya?”

“Of course I…” Yoko froze..

No, she never remembered being pregnant with Yuya. She never rubbed her stomach with a caring hand, smiling at what her baby would look like. She had no memory of being rushed into the hospital with Yusho holding her hand as she gave birth to a beautiful boy with crimson eyes.

Because those things never happened. 

“I...I don’t…” Yoko stammered.

She dropped the table knife onto the floor as if it was that part of the horror film when the main character’s sanity started to break. No, no no no no, she wasn’t gonna break,  _ not now _ . She was Yoko Sakaki, badass leader of a biker gang and, quite frankly.  _ this _ wasn’t the most shocking news that she’d learned this week. 

“Yuya was found at my doorstep…” Yoko mumbled, recalling what happened. “He was so alone, crying out for someone…” she said, remembering the basket Yuya was found in. How Yusho brought the basket inside. How the only thing that was found aside from the little boy was Odd Eyes Dragon. There was no note, no address, nothing that stated where he came from. But it didn’t matter then; the boy needed a home and loving parents and that’s what she and Yusho gave him.

“I’m not sure how any of this works, or even  _ what _ you are, but Yuya is my son,” Yoko stated, ready to punch the lights out of her son if it means this demonic spirit will be kicked out of his body. “I’m responsible for his safety by any means necessary. I raised him for  _ 14 years _ and no golden eyed demon or whatever is gonna change that. So what the hell do you want, and I better get an answer that doesn’t make me want to knock your fucking lights out!”

Zarc chuckled, licking his fangs. “Yuya was right; you  _ do  _ look ready to exorcise me.”

“Oh you bet I am,” Yoko stated, cracking her knuckles by pressing her thumb on them. With each and every  _ crack _ , Yuto and Yugo could feel the tension in the air. They didn’t want to disobey Father, but they didn’t want Yoko, the closest thing that either of them had to a mother, to be hurt by Father’s wrath. They didn’t want Yuya to cry over how his mother would be hurt.

“Wait, wait please,” Yuto cried, trying to stop anything dangerous from happening. “Father, Yoko-san...I don’t want any fighting! This is my fault…” he sniffled as the two adults turned to him. “I...I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Things wouldn’t have escalated this far if I said nothing!”

Yuto began to sob, covering his face in his hands as Zarc and Yoko stared at the lavender-haired boy. Yugo placed a comforting hand on his younger brother’s shoulder and Yoko shook her head.

Yep, the person who knew too much about what was going on was blaming themselves for confessing what was happening. That’s what it was like in the horror films. After this was over, Yoko needed to make a checklist to see how many of these plotlines have been gone through.

“It’s not your fault, Yuto dear. I simply need to know that my boys won’t get hurt due to negligence,” Yoko said. 

Zarc ran Yuya’s fingers through Yuto’s hair. “You did nothing wrong, my specter.”

“Yoko-san,” Yugo began, begging that Yoko understood instead of threatening to kick him and Yuto out. Not when he finally had the closest resemblance to a normal life (which would be much better if Rin was with him to experience this). “Father loves us more than anything. He would never let us be hurt if he had the powers to stop it.”

“If he loved you so much, why didn’t he tell me all about this two days ago instead of announcing his presence by acting like a tulpa and shattering anything he could? He almost hurt you boys.” Yoko questioned.

Zarc paused; for a human, she made a good point.

“He was...angry at you…” Yuto said in shame. They had been the catalysts for Father’s outburst after all; they were at fault for what he did. 

“Me?” Yoko asked raising an eyebrow before looking Zarc in the eyes as a challenge to explain what she did so wrong that it warranted a damn tornado in her house! 

And this proved her theory right: all of that poltergeist action last night was a result of her showing  _ concern _ for Yuto and Yugo and calling them  _ her _ sons.

“Father is very protective of us,” Yugo explained. “Very  _ possessive  _ of us. We are his treasures... and it had been 14 years.” 

“They are  _ mine _ ,” Zarc said looking Yoko in the eyes. “So who are you, a human such as yourself to come in and call them  _ yours?”  _

Yoko snarled, slamming a hand on the table. “Oh, I’ll tell you who I am. I am  _ their mother! _ Do you still got a problem with that, _ your highness  _ or do I need to recite each and everything that made me a more capable person to take care of these children than you?! I’m still not forgiving you for putting my sons in some collected trance, you know!” 

Zarc stared at Yoko looking ready to exorcise him, grabbing the pitcher of water as if it was blessed and ready to burn his skin alive. Yuto and Yugo watched with bated breath, waiting to see how Zarc would react. Zarc bowed his head.

And then...his body began to tremble and he was... _ laughing _ .

Yoko raised her eyebrow at him as Zarc continued to laugh like this was all a huge joke to him. Yuto and Yugo hugged each other out of fear as Zarc took a deep breath, tears falling down his eyes from how hilarious this has been.

“Yoko Sakaki, I’m quite impressed with you,” Zarc said with a grin. “I’ve not met a human, much less a  _ woman _ , with your fire in quite some time. Not since  _ Ray Akaba _ .”

The name was said in growl of anger and hatred, and Yoko got the impression that whoever that was, especially since they had last name of ‘Akaba’, it was a bad idea to bring them up. But she wanted answers anyway, so she put a pin in that name to ask about it later. After all, she also had beef with Himika and Reiji for blaming her son for attacking Shingo even though she herself knew that he had been at the You Show Duel School around the time of the attack.

And from the looks of things, the Akabas were holding  _ something _ secret and it involved the Xyz Dimension in a way...She was going to do some investigating of her own after her sons left. She also had something to say about Reira...if the child really  _ was _ an Akaba….

Yoko sighed and nodded her head. “Alright then, let's start with this,” she said, setting the water pitcher down but not letting go of her grip on the handle. “First of all, who are you?” 

Zarc smiled, shadows surrounding Yuya’s body, the dark powers made her son’s hair rise, and making Zarc’s golden eyes shine brighter than before. Damn it. Yuya looked even  _ more  _ like a boy possessed by a malevolent spirit now. Why was this a good idea again?

“I am the ruler of the realm of Duel Monsters,” Zarc began. “I am the father of the princes who shall rule the dimensions. I am a Father who wishes to enact  _ revenge  _ on the people who waged war upon my kingdom and separated my sons from me. And I am a vengeful spirit who will not stop until the Akabas and  _ every single thing that they stand for _ is burned into nothing but ash.

“I am the  _ Supreme Dragon King Zarc _ !”

Dark winds began to howl within the dining room. This time, they made sure  _ not _ to destroy anything, but the lights flickered and it felt like Yoko was going to be thrown across the room at any second.

“Supreme... Dragon King...” Yoko muttered.

Yep. This was definitely something out of a horror film.

“Wait, you boys are actually  _ dragons _ ?!” she said. When Yuto and Yugo nodded their heads, she tilted her head and scratched her hair with her free hand. “Well, I wish I’d known that sooner... You’re all growing boys. Maybe I should add more protein to your diets....Michio should have some recipes with lean protein that will help build muscle...” 

_ “She’s not terrified of Father?!”  _ Yuto thought.

_ “What is Yuya’s mother made of?”  _ Yugo asked. Yuya was giggling in the back of their heads.

“Zarc, is my son fully aware of what’s going on?” Yoko asked, remembering something about possessions. Either the vessel was knocked unconscious or they could see everything and were screaming at how they didn’t want the malicious darkness to harm their family and friends.

“Yes, Yuya is aware,” Zarc answered. He also was bewildered at Yoko’s reactions; he was honestly starting to doubt her being human.

“Yuya,” Yoko began, placing her hands on Yuya’s shoulders, staring into Zarc’s golden eyes as if they were her baby boy’s red ones. “If you’re hearing this, no matter what happens, whether you’re truly a Prince of dimensions, a dragon, the son of a dark and demonic being...you’re still  _ my  _ son. Always and forever,” she hugged Yuya’s body to her.

_ “Mom…” _ Yuto and Yugo could hear Yuya almost crying from joy. 

Yoko let go, smiling sweetly, before she remembered something in regards to Zarc and his  _ sons _ . “Zarc, you mentioned  _ four _ sons,” she said. “So far, there’s Yuya, Yuto and Yugo. Going by this logic, there’s  _ another _ boy who looks like Yuya in, let me guess, Academia?”

Zarc had to shake himself from his stupor; nothing could get past this woman. ”...Yes. that’s right. Yuri, my oldest boy, is under Leo Akaba’s control, and he is dimensions away from his younger brothers, which made our connections weaker. I can’t reach him fully,” he said narrowing his eyes. 

“Leo Akaba?” 

Yoko had not heard that name for a long time. Leo Akaba went missing years ago, leaving Leo Corp. in the hands of his son. To think that he was now in  _ another dimension _ and was the one who turned Yuto’s home into a wasteland?!

That’s it. Yoko was personally going to Himika today and demand answers. And if need be, she’ll bring Zarc along with her.

_ “...Father, wouldn’t it be best to use my powers for a bit, and look like yourself to my mom?”  _ Yuya asked.

** _Are you sure that is wise?_ **

_ “I think it will make it easier to address everything that is going on. Please Father…” _

** _….As you wish, my shooting star._ **

Yuya’s eyes glowed red and green, and in seconds, the little boy with green and red hair was replaced by an older man with silver hair and green highlights in his bangs framing his face. He stood at Yoko’s height, somewhat taller, wearing a white tunic and dark blue pants. He crossed his arms, looking with a surprisingly calm face at Yoko. The blond blinked at the change. She was expecting, ebony colored skin, blood-red eyes, horns, screaming faces, demonic armor. This was...unexpected. 

Yoko took a deep breath as she saw Zarc standing right in front of her. She could see it in the eyes and smile...Yuya, Yuto and Yugo had such an eerie resemblance to Zarc that it’d be a lie to say that they  _ weren’t _ related in some way.

“Huh, you’re actually quite handsome,” she commented. “Then again you  _ did  _ say you are the boys’ father, but I didn’t expect that level of resemblance to be honest.” 

“...What just happened?” Yuto whispered to Yugo.

“I have absolutely no idea...but I think Father and Yoko-san...are getting along.” Yugo replied.

“What even is this morning?” Yuto asked bewildered. 

Zarc sighed. “Now, let us go back to me having four sons. In each of my sons is a part of my soul. When the dimensions were split, my children were reborn, and none of them knew of my existence. I had to watch them go through their lives, unable to do anything...until by coincidence, Yuto and Yugo met with Yuya two nights ago…”

“And how did  _ that _ happen?” asked Yoko. “Wait...did it have something to do with Sora?”

This time, none of them froze or looked ready to murder her at the mention of that name. Curious.

“Yeah,” Yuto said. “I went to see Sora while he was resting to ask what happened to Ruri, Shun’s little sister, and my other best friend, she..holds a remarkable resemblance to Yuzu.”

(At this, Yoko made another note: ask what was going on in regards to Yuzu and any other doppelgangers  _ she  _ might have. Last thing she needed was Yuzu to die because she saw another person with her face. Oh and also figure out what was so important that made Yuto and Yugo  _ avoid _ Yuzu in the first place)

“Sora did not give me the answers I wanted and then security came to take me away,” Yuto continued. “I escaped and Sora chased me. Then, Yuya found the two of us at the park.”

“I see…”

“Sora was still angry for having lost to Shun and wanted to duel me, to heal his wounded pride. Yuya tried to ask what was going on, and he learned the truth about what happened to my dimension. But before Sora could say anything else, his Duel Disk activated the failsafe that dragged him back to Academia.

“Yuya and I dueled a little. And when we summoned our dragons, they...recognized one another. Yuya stopped the duel and I explained everything to him. About Sora, Academia, the other dimensions...and then Yugo arrived.”

It was Yugo’s turn to speak. “Our oldest brother, Yuri as I said, kidnapped my friend Rin, by order of this Professor Akaba. I was able to somehow travel across the other dimensions and ended up in Heartland where I mistook Yuto for him, and Yuto mistook me for a Fusion user.”

“...Is it because of your name?” Yoko asked, realizing just what Yugo was getting at.

“...Yes…” Yugo answered, before taking a deep breath. Honestly his name wasn’t  _ that _ hard, it was Yugo,  _ Yugo _ . Why did everyone confuse it for ‘Fusion’ anyhow?

“The two of us dueled, wanting answers from the others in regard to our tr...our loved ones,” Yuto said. “It was a tough battle and then it got to the point where we summoned our dragons.”

He pulled out Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon from his Duel Disk while Yugo showed Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. The dragons roared softly, the two feeling guilty in how they nearly destroyed one another. They weren’t glowing this time.

_ This _ time.

“We sensed a powerful presence inside us and were about to destroy one another,” Yugo said. “If it weren’t for Yuya begging for it to stop and Father awakening us…”

“I see…” Yoko said with a nod, absorbing everything.” _ Wait what does ‘awaken’ mean”  _ “Does anyone else know about this? Does Reiji Akaba know?“

“The security cameras were destroyed when I arrived,” Yugo answered. “So no, he has no idea what happened.”

“I told Shun a little about us,” said Yuto, recalling how he hypnotized his newly claimed treasure the day before. “Not about Father or us being dragons, though. He doesn’t even know that I’ve been staying with you.”

Yoko nodded again. “Good. I think the last thing that’s needed is to tell Reiji or Himika about this until we get all the details.”

This was going  _ against _ everything she learned from Horror Films 101, but Yoko had a justified reason why she wasn’t going to tell those two about Zarc, Yuya, Yuto or Yugo yet. She couldn’t trust these two yet.or anyone associated with Leo Duel School or Leo Corp. for that matter.

“Still, isn’t it sort of sad that Reiji has to learn that his own father is a tyrant?” she admitted. “No child should have to learn that their Father was some heartless monster.”

At that, Zarc’s eyes narrowed. “What Reiji Akaba must endure is  _ nothing _ compared to the tragedy of me watching my sons be tormented by that treacherous human,” he snarled. “Or about how your  _ husband _ went galavanting to a city where he spent the last three years teaching duelists how to smile. It was a wondrous city and it was known as...what was that called again?” Zarc tilted his head and tapped a finger to his chin before his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. “Oh right! It was known as  _ Heartland _ .”

Yoko narrowed her eyes. “Yusho did _ what now _ ?” Her voice was deadly calm and she was gripping onto the water pitcher once more. 

“Oh, I was there when that happened!” Zarc chuckled. “One day Yusho Sakaki appeared and he became a teacher in the Duel School Yuto was enrolled in. He never said anything about where he came from, or that he had a wife and son waiting for him in this dimension. No, he spent the next three years there as if he  _ forgot _ that he had a family who was worried for his safety and how he decided to chicken out and leave Yuya as a nervous wreck who smiles to hide his pain after  _ everyone _ called him a ‘son of a coward’.”

Yoko could feel bile rising in her throat. Yusho Sakaki, her husband,was in Heartland the entire time? Yusho was in  _ another dimension?!  _

That explained Yuto’s reaction when she joked about him and Yugo teaching at the You Show Duel School. You Show = Yusho!

Yoko slammed her hand at the table, shaking it from the force of her hit, face full of murderous intent. “Oh did he now? And I thought the two of us had things to talk about before...I thought that we had such an open relationship and we could turn to the other if something was wrong. It seems we have  _ way  _ much more to talk about when we see each other again,” she said between gritted teeth. 

Yusho Sakaki, who she waited like Penelope waiting for Odysseus to return home to Ithaca, was in another dimension for the past three years and  _ never told her or Yuya about this?! _

He could’ve left a letter, said his good-byes...he could have done  _ something _ but just ran away like the coward everyone called him!

“Yuto,” Yoko stated, her voice just as icy as Zarc’s and twice as deadly.Zarc smirked in satisfaction and licked his lips. Yuto felt like Yoko could toss the contents of the pitcher onto him and it would transform into liquid nitrogen before she took a sledgehammer to shatter him into ice crystals. “Is what your ‘Father’ saying true? Was Yusho Sakaki in your dimension for the past three years?”

Yuya also was in shock from all this.  _ “My dad was in Heartland?!”  _ he thought.  _ “Yuto...did he get carded?” _

_ “I..I don’t think so,”  _ Yuto answered. 

But when he turned to Yoko, he answered, “Y-yes ma’am,” and swallowed a lump in his throat. 

“He...he never mentioned  _ anything _ about me or Yuya?” Yoko said, pupils shrinking. She looked like a tiger ready to pounce. “Even though you look  _ exactly _ like his son who he  _ left behind _ ?!”

“N...no,” Yuto replied, shrinking in seat.

“Did he mention why he was even there in the first place?” Yoko hissed.

“Uh...I...ah….”

“He had  _ three years _ to say something and he  _ said nothing _ !” Yoko screamed. That was the biggest rule of Horror Film 101: if a person had so much time to explain something, there was a high chance that they wouldn’t during the film’s backstory and they would get a humongous amount of flack for not saying something sooner because a lot of problems would be cleared up if they spoke up about this.

And as much as Yoko didn’t want to admit it, Yusho Sakaki was that person who kept his mouth shut and said nothing and he was going to  _ fucking pay for this _ when she saw him again.

_ “Yusho is gonna fucking die,”  _ Yuto realized, noticing how Yoko was close to murdering someone.  _ “Yuya...do you think he deserves this?” _

_ “I…” _

“Just what did my husband teach you?” Yoko asked, eyes drilling a hole in Yuto’s skull. “Oh, let me guess. ‘Dueling is about bringing smiles onto people’s faces.’ Ha! As much as I loved this quality about Yusho, if there is a  _ war _ coming up shouldn’t the more important thing to do is to train you all into saving your hides from the likes of Academia and Professor Akabastard?!”

At that, Yoko couldn’t help but smirk. She knew how much her husband worked with Professor Akaba to improve the technology that would make Action Duels possible, but now that she knew how much of a heartless man Professor Akaba was, calling him a bastard was  _ minor _ to what she’d say to him when he showed his face in this dimension again.

Zarc watched Yoko with interest, raising his eyebrow with a smug smirk on his face. He hadn’t anticipated  _ that  _ reaction; he thought she would fall on the chair in shock or despair. Yet here she was ready to tear into Yusho Sakaki, her  _ husband _ , the moment she sees him, calling out his faults and wrong actions 

“Even if Yusho told us about the war, it wouldn’t have stopped them from attacking,” Yuto explained.

“And just  _ where _ is my husband now?” Yoko said.

“I...don’t know,” Yuto answered, shamefully. “He just...vanished when the invasion started.”

“...Coward,” Yoko spat out. “He didn’t even show concern for someone who looked just like his own son!”

And at that, Yoko released her grip from the water pitcher, grabbed onto an empty glass and then slammed it onto the floor. Glass shards flew everywhere as she was about to throw another glass to the floor before Zarc grabbed her hand with a calm look in his eye..a look that screamed, _ “Stop what you’re doing or I will kill you where you stand.” _

Her answering glare was,  _ ‘Try me, bitch’. _

“I think that’s enough Yoko-san. You’re scaring the boys,” he said in a deceivingly calm voice. 

At that she looked back at both Yugo and Yuto, the latter looked riddled with guilt. She took a deep breath before approaching the two, and hugging Yuto who froze in her arms. “It’s alright sweetheart, I’m not mad at you, not in the slightest,” she gave him a soft smile. “My dear  _ husband  _ on the other hand, would be quite lucky if I didn’t murder him with my bare hands,” she patted Yuto’s head gently, and moved to pick up the shards of the broken glass she shattered. 

**...** ** _She’s perfect. _ ** Zarc thought.  ** _Fierce, determined, fiery...she is everything I want and more._ **

_ “What do you mean?”  _ Yuya questioned. While he was glad that Father wasn’t going to hurt his mother, he did feel horrible to learn that Yusho just  _ abandoned _ the two of them without even explaining why. 

He felt horrible; how he defended Yusho for the past three years while everyone laughed and jeered at him. Even Hokuto and Yaiba stated out how much of a coward he was (even though Reiji told them to shut up. Was it because Reiji truly  _ did _ respect Yusho or did he just not like how the two were putting Yuya down since the two lost their own duels?)

And Reiji...Yuya would never say that he hated someone but he  _ hated _ Reiji. For being so smug, so arrogant, being the one who was pulling strings so that Leo Corp. would get what they wanted…but what exactly did Reiji want?!

That would have to wait until after his duel was finished. Focus Yuya...focus on defeating Kachidoki.

** _Your mother is willing to help aid us in our quest to stop the Akabas. _ ** Zarc explained.  ** _And she cares for your brothers without a second thought. She does not see them as different copies of you; she sees both of them as her sons. She’s willing to protect you, she stood up for you when you were crying your heart out...what else can I say? Yoko Sakaki is _ ** **perfect.**

A shiver ran down Yuya's spine at Zarc's declaration, just what did Father mean by that?  _ "Perfect for what?"  _

Zarc smirked and said no more.

“Yuto, one more thing,” said Yoko. “Be honest...you were the one who initiated that attack on Shingo Sawatari, right?”

“...I’m very sorry for that,” Yuto said, feeling like Yoko just stabbed him in the heart with a glass shard. How many times will he be asked to recall that moment? “I didn’t want to hurt him; I wanted answers to what happened to Ruri.” Zarc moved closer and kissed Yuto's forehead. With Yuya's shapeshifting abilities now Zarc was back to looking and feeling more like himself in a body, and it was just so  _ nice  _ hugging his sons to his chest so easily. He wanted to lift them off the ground and keep them in his lap, as he ran his hand through their hair like old times.

Of course, there was still the fact that Yoko would find this all uncomfortable (as Zarc was still using Yuya’s body and all…)

“Honestly, how were you mistaken for Yuya?" said Yoko, unaware of Zarc's little internal struggle. "You two have different hair colors and style, different voices, and different decks! What  _ moron  _ would mistake the two of you for each other?” She said with an eye roll. “And Reiji and Himiki Akaba took advantage of that stupidity and came to hurt my son  _ and _ buy out my husband’s Duel School...” 

She grit her teeth when she heard how those three stooges of Shingo Sawatari accuse her baby boy of being violent. And this was after she learned how Shingo used Yuya’s naivety to snatch his precious Pendulum Monsters away a few days prior to that incident. Thank goodness Yuya defeated Shingo (even after she learned how he used his monsters to attack Yuzu, Futoshi, Ayu and Tatsuya when they were absolutely defenseless) else she would personally come to his house and kick his ass until next Sunday with a steel pipe in her hand for the stunt that he pulled.

Oh, she was gonna unleash hell on the Akabas and on Shingo Sawatari one way or another. Even if Shingo did redeem himself in his duel against Yuya, that  _ did not _ mean he was in the clear for accusing her son for doing something so cruel. She knew that at the very least she wasn’t going to be voting to give his father another term as mayor in the next election.

Yoko lowered her arms and smiled at Yuto before giving him a pat on the head. “Well, I know what I’m going to be doing today.”

“Y...you do?” asked Yugo. How did she turn from “I’m going to murder someone” to “Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay” with a drop of a hat?

Yoko nodded her head as she turned to Zarc. “Zarc, would you be a dear and accompany me to Leo Corp. today? I think the two of us should have a  _ personal  _ talk with Himika and her son in regards to what they’ve been up to.”

_ “....WHAT?!”  _ Was the cry from all three boys upon hearing just what Yoko said. Was she  _ that  _ fearless or that foolish to do such a thing?

“Oh, I’d be happy to Yo~ko-san,” Zarc said with saccharine sweet smile that spoke of hidden horrors beneath it. Yuya couldn’t help but shiver at how Zarc was on the same wavelength as his mother. “And after this, I noticed how you were eyeing Yugo’s D-Wheel...perhaps he can teach you all about Synchro Summoning after this is over.”

“Hmm, that does sound interesting, and it would be such a blast from the past as well,” Yoko said with a chuckle.

“Umm..Yoko-san, what do you mean by that?” Yugo asked.

“Well,” she said, “I used to be part of a gang in the past, No, that’s a bit of a lie...I was the  _ leader _ of a biker gang in the past, the Maiami Queens. We were also called ‘Sirens’ because how we lured our opponents to utterly humiliating defeats. ”

_ “She was  _ what now _ ?!”  _ Yuto asked, eyes wide at the woman hugging him. 

_ “She’s joking right?” _ replied Yugo, turning to Zarc.

Yoko grinned, loving the shocked look on everyone’s faces. Even  _ Zarc _ was surprised at what he was hearing. “‘Shooting Star Yoko’ was what they called me. Other names included ‘The Queen of the Sirens’ and ‘Loco Yoko’, but I prefer the first one myself. My girls and I tore the town apart at night against anyone who stood in our way.”

_ “Oh dear gods I don’t think she’s joking…”  _ Yugo stated.

“It was during one of these nights against a local gang that Yusho appeared,” Yoko said with a sigh. “One of my girls got captured by them and Yusho arrived to help me save her. He ended the fight without a single punch thrown or a drop of blood shed. I admired how he was capable of making a conflict into such an entertaining show...and I guess you can tell what happened.”

Yoko then shook her head. “But to think that Yusho wouldn’t be able to tell me any of what happened. And somehow the Akabas are related to this. But for what? I don’t know. However, I will not stand for this! The Akabas are nothing more than a bunch of bullies with money and suits. They’re gonna give us some answers or I’m gonna squeeze it out of them!” 

Zarc clapped his hands once with the same grin now back on his face. “Wonderful,” he said. “I would be  _ delighted _ to join you today.”

“Then it’s settled,” said Yoko, extending her hand out. “I think we’re going to get along just fine, Supreme Dragon King Zarc.”

Zarc smirked and gave her a nod, extending his hand out as well.

“One more thing though,  _ your highness _ . What about Yuzu, and the girls that look like her? What’s their story, and why are they close to your sons?” 

“Well,” Zarc stated. “Remember how I mentioned one ‘Ray Akaba’ earlier?”

Yoko nodded her head silently. Seems like Zarc had the same number of dislikes like she: they didn’t like their sons hurt and they hated the Akabas.

“She is Leo Akaba’s daughter -- or rather, she  _ was _ in a previous time -- and she was the reason my soul, and the dimensions were split into four,” he answered. 

Yoko’s eyebrows reached her hairline. This was something out of a  _ sci-fi _ story instead of the horror she was used to.

“The girls that look like Yuzu are all part of Ray Akaba, split into four as well after she attacked and defeated me. Leo Akaba wishes to resurrect his daughter using the four of them, which is why he ordered my Yuri to kidnap them. As for why they are all close to my sons, it must’ve been Ray’s will to ensure that I don’t return. But unforeseen circumstances to the  _ all powerful  _ Ray happened, and these girls have become my sons’ best friends and source of happiness. Quite ironic if you ask me,” he smirked . 

“I...I don’t know what to say,” said Yoko, feeling like this was the twist in the horror film that the female character was called to the haunted house because she was the reincarnation of a woman who died long ago. “I’ve known Yuzu ever since she appeared at Shuzo-san’s doorstep and, okay fiery temper and  _ harisen _ aside, she’s been nothing but kind, helpful and empathetic to Yuya’s plight ever since Yusho left.”

“Yes it is something my boys have convinced me of. These girls, while they are a part of Ray Akaba, they most certainly are  _ not  _ her. They are their own people independent of Ray.” 

“Hold on…” she said as horror struck her at the thought but she had to ask. “If Leo Akaba did try and resurrect Ray, what would happen to the girls?” 

“...Without a doubt, they would die in order to bring her back.” Zarc whispered, noticing how Yuto and Yugo were on the verge of crying at the thought of losing their loved ones. 

Yoko’s eyes widened, pupils narrowing. “No,” she whispered softly. Now here came the part of the film where one learned that an innocent maiden was to be  _ sacrificed _ in order to bring about the resurrection of a dark king from another realm. She clenched her teeth. That’s it. “Over my dead body! Zarc, what status do you have of these girls?”

“Rin, Ray’s Synchro counterpart and Ruri, Ray’s Xyz counterpart, were kidnapped by Yuri and are currently in the Fusion Dimension,” Zarc stated. “And just yesterday, I sensed that Ray’s Fusion Counterpart has set foot here.”

“For what reason?” Yoko felt like she was Shooting Star Yoko again, asking one of her gang members to give her intel on what was going on with the rival gangs.

“Most likely to go after me and Shun,” Yuto answered.

Yoko frowned thoughtfully. “I see… Don’t worry Yuto, we’ve all seen Shun duel. He’s very strong; you two would be able to beat anyone who comes after you. You’re not alone after all,” she gave him an encouraging smile

“But back to Ray’s Fusion counterpart --I need a shorter name for her--Most likely she doesn’t know what Akaba is planning to sacrifice her, correct? What if we were to tell her of what Akaba was doing was wrong? At worst, the bastard’s true intentions for her would earn her doubt.” 

“The students of Academia are too brainwashed to listen; they only know destruction,” Yuto said, doing his best to not let memories of Obelisk Force decimating his city with those Ancient Gear monsters rise up. “Even  _ Yuri _ has been indoctrinated with Akaba’s belief that the attacks and carding of people is for a united utopia when the dimensions are reunited.”

Yoko gave a sigh, feeling like this was too much to handle. “Regardless, I suppose the very least we can do is keep Yuzu out of the Academia's clutches. They need all  _ four _ counterparts, correct? If one of them stayed out of that bastard’s hands, then he can’t do anything to the other three, and they would be safe.” 

“That would be the case,” said Zarc. “The problem is that he’s too relentless and too stubborn to cease in his quest to resurrecting his daughter. And even then he’s still holding two of the girls captive and is probably torturing them or putting them under painful experiments to see how they react.”

_ “WHAT?!”  _ Yuto and Yugo screamed.

She bawled her hands to fists in rage.“What about you?” asked Yoko, not wanting her brain to play scenarios she’s seen in multiple horror films late at night. “Do you need Yuri to bring you back from the dead? Is it the same process as bringing back Ray?”

“Yes and no,” Zarc answered.

“Then, what exactly do you need to be...resurrected?” 

Zarc thought hard about whether or not he should divulge that information. He already told Yoko too much as it is. “Resurrecting me is not the same as resurrecting Ray. The four girls  _ were _ her, while my children merely took my soul into their own. Resurrecting me does not contain the same danger resurrecting Ray would. I would  _ never  _ place my safety above my own sons’.” 

“The same with me, and any parent with  _ common sense _ ,” Yoko replied, trying to wrap her head over how Professor Akaba would stoop this low to resurrect his “daughter”.

Zarc nodded. “I wish to indulge more information to you, but I do believe than my Yuya has a duel to get to, and Yuto has a friend to warn.”

Yoko looked at her watch and her eyes widened. “Shit, you’re right! Gongenzaka should be starting his duel right about now. Let’s discuss this later, after the duels are over for the day. I need enough time to think about just  _ what _ I’m going to be asking Himika about in regards to her husband’s brilliant plan to ruin everyone else’s lives.” 

She took a good look at Zarc again, making her decision final. And thus, Yoko did something that was super duper rare in the world of horror…

She teamed up with the horrifying monster to defeat a human that made the horror seem like it was Santa Claus. 

But she was not  _ that _ foolish. Yoko did not fully trust Zarc; after all, he was still a supernatural entity that can take control of her boy any time he wanted (and Yuya didn’t seem to mind at all). And given the influence he had on Yuto and Yugo, she knew that getting them away from this...demonic dragon king was going to be an uphill battle.

For the time being, everything Zarc said would be taken with a grain of salt.

And when the time was right, she would take those grains and hurl each single one of them at him so her son’s soul would be purified from Zarc’s presence.

Zarc smirked when he saw the look in Yoko’s eye. He knew just what she was planning, and it would be fun for him to let her think she was going to win this little war between them. She could try, but he knew that he would emerge victorious.

So yes, Yoko Sakaki was  _ perfect _ .

She would make the perfect mother for his sons with enough time and, with a bit of his influence here and there, nothing would make her leave them. Leave  _ Zarc. _

And if need be, she would happily  _ die _ for them.

** _Let the games begin..._ ** Zarc chuckled, golden eyes shining bright.

***************

After getting a bit more information from Zarc, the Supreme Dragon King relinquished control so Yuya could prepare for his match. Yoko wished him the best of luck, and had given Yuto and Yugo hugs saying goodbye, both boys had frozen in place when she hugged them. Yuto looked away in embarrassment and thanked her. Yugo, on the other hand, hugged her back a few seconds later tightly, she smiled and ran her hand through his hair. 

All three boys said goodbye and hopped onto Yugo’s D-wheel as it sped out of the garage and onto the freeway. The fact that it can keep on taking three people at a time is a testament to how good Yugo and Rin did of a job building it. 

The D-Wheel zoomed through the streets, moving past every car with ease. Yugo silently drove, even his thoughts were to himself as Yuto clutched him tightly drowning in his own worries.Yuya wrapping his arms around Yuto’s waist, with some of the anxiety coming back. 

He was nervous, while Shun could and has taken care of himself before. He was a warrior, after all. He defended Heartland alongside Yuto as part of the Resistance and won difficult duels and got out of tight spots before. So objectively, people coming from Academia after them was par for the course. 

But here's the deal. Shun was  _ his.  _ Shun belonged to Yuto. Now and forever, and even the thought of someone  _ else  _ wanting to take him away from Yuto sent the young prince to a rage. He was a dragon after all. And as Father had demonstrated time and again, they were possessive. So he's not gonna let  _ anyone _ take one of his precious treasures away again! Losing Ruri alone was unacceptable, but Father has assured him she would be in his and Shun's arms again soon. 

Yugo, while silent, was doing his best to send his brothers comfort through their bond. Yuto and Yuya couldn't help but smile at the attempt, so even though Yuto’s thoughts were raging and his emotions running rampant, and Yuya being a bit nervous as he went through strategies and his monsters’ abilities, they were supported by both their brother and Father, and as always were grateful for it. Yuto placed a kiss on Yugo's shoulder in gratitude. Yugo smiled at the gesture before making a turn on his D-Wheel. Minutes later they reached their destination. 

“Hurry” said Yugo, pressing on the brakes. “We have to get to him before his duel starts. And make sure that Akaba doesn’t notice.”

Yuya split from both of them, his brothers wished him luck, and he called the same for them.

Yuto ran around looking for his best friend outside before finally finding Shun hanging around the stadium entrance. 

“Shun!” Yuto called. 

Shun turned around to see Yuto and Yugo approach him. He was ready to fight, but paused the moment he saw the worried expression on Yuto’s face and the serious one on Yugo’s. “Yuto. What’s going on? What’s wrong?” 

The lavender haired boy shook his head, looking around for both En-Moon and the cameras that Reiji would most likely have set up, or even the TV cameras. Yuto grabbed Shun’s wrist and started dragging him somewhere they can be alone. “Come my treasure,” he purred into Shun’s ear. “Let’s go somewhere private where over nosy CEOs won’t be spying on us.” 

Shun gasped in surprise when Yuto grabbed his wrist and again blushed when Yuto called him    
“treasure”. Yugo smirked at seeing how flustered the Raidraptor duelist became from a simple word and gesture. Shun was now putty in Yuto’s hands. He wondered if that was a new thing or if it was simply Yuto’s influence, as he was pretty sure his brother was not that affectionate or possessive before Father had awakened them. 

Yuto found a room a few minutes later, after Shun and Yugo entered he locked the door so they wouldn’t get interrupted. 

“Yuto, what’s going on?” Shun asked with a frown on his face.

The Xyz prince took a deep breath and sighed. “Someone from Academia is coming after us,” Yuto explained. “They...they found out we left the Xyz Dimension…”

“What? How?!” asked Shun, readying himself for the inevitable fight. 

“Sora Shunin,” Yuto hastily answered. “They must have got the information from him once he was back at the Fusion Dimension, and now you’re in danger! You have to be careful.”

“Yuto… you’re in danger too,” Shun reminded him, placing his hands on Yuto’s shoulders. The worried look on Yuto didn’t disappear. He balled his hands to fists just thinking about the possibility of losing Shun. 

“I can’t lose you, Shun,” Yuto stated. “Shun, my treasure...I can’t lose you like I lost Ruri…”

“Y-Yuto…” Shun kinda wished Yuto would stop calling him  _ his treasure.  _ It didn’t have a good effect on his quickening heart or mind which simply stops working the moment he hears that. 

“You have to understand…” Yuto continued, tears trickling down his glowing grey eyes. “I. can’t. Lose you! You’re mine, Shun! My best friend, my love, my  _ treasure _ ...I won’t let  _ anyone  _ take you from me,” he said cupping Shun’s face between his hands, keeping Shun’s focus only on Yuto. 

“Yuto...wha…”

The lavender haired boy kissed Shun, making the other boy relax in his arms, gold eyes staring deep into glowing grey orbs like lights shining within a heavy fog, leading him out of the darkness and into the light... 

“Shun,” Yuto whispered, his voice shifting into a low growl that caused shivers to fall down Shun’s spine. “You are mine. You are my precious treasure. You belong to me and me alone. No one else can have you. Mine, always and forever.”

“Always and...forever,” Shun repeated without a second thought, completely under Yuto’s spell again. 

“Relax now,” Yuto whispered, voice soft as silk. One of his hands grabbed Shun’s chin, the other ran its claw-like fingers down Shun’s face. The boy shuddered in delight at the sensation, eyes still locked with Yuto’s. 

“You feel happy right now, don’t you? At peace, and filled with tranquility and love. You’ll do anything I say, won’t you? To make me happy...you  _ like  _ making me happy, don’t you?” 

“... I do,” Shun answered.

“You’ll always listen to everything I say, follow my every word, won’t you Shun? Because it makes you feel like this, isn’t that right?” Yuto ran his fingers lightly over Shun’s neck, a little reminder of what his lips felt like there. Shun moaned. “Isn’t that right, my treasure?” 

He couldn’t speak, only nod his head, trying to move his body closer to Yuto’s, to have  _ more  _ of Yuto. Please...he wanted more, he wanted to open his lips and beg for more but couldn’t do anything other than moan and sigh. 

“This is the Hour of the Nightingale, Shun,” Yuto purred. "Whenever  _ I  _ speak this phrase you will fall back into this trance, into this blissful state. You are completely, and  _ only  _ mine, in mind, body and soul. No one else will have this distinction."

"Yours," Shun finally could say. "Only yours." Yuto shivered in delight at that declaration, that promise, that oath. 

"Awake and return to normal by my kiss, Shun," he whispered, his powers fading. He guided his lovely treasure's lips to his own, watching Shun sigh at the gesture.. 

Seconds later, Yuto stepped back as he saw his treasure’s golden eyes be filled with life once more. Shun winced as everything came back to him. Yuto called him here for something important, worried about him, calling him his…’treasure’.

Right…Academia coming to get them. 

Seeing Yuto in front of him, a sense of desire and love bloomed in his heart when he noticed the worried look in his friend’s...no, not friend...something even more...he’d figure it out later. "I will be careful, but I won't run from the fight Yuto,” said Shun. “I'm not a coward."

"Shun," Yuto said putting his hand on Shun's cheek. But before he could say anything else, Shun smiled and took Yuto’s hand into his own. Yuto watched as Shun then placed a gentle loving kiss on the back of his hand.

“I am your precious treasure, Yuto,” he stated. “I promise to let no one take me away from you.” 

Yuto gasped, delight filling his very soul. A litany of  _ “mineminemine,”  _ was the only thing he can think of. His dearest treasure proclaiming to be his, promising to never let anything or anyone take him from Yuto, a look of complete and utter devotion in Shun’s eyes. Yes, yes this was  _ glorious _ . 

His brothers didn’t go unaffected by this. Pleasure and satisfaction and possessiveness, coming off of Yuto in waves, Yugo had to lean against the wall to catch his breath. And Yuya -- watching Gongenzaka deliver the final blow to his opponent -- had to suppress a shudder when he felt Yuto’s joy in having his treasure right by his side.

Father’s satisfaction surprised all of them, though. They heard Zarc chuckle as he wrapped an arm around Yuto and caressed his chin.

** _Perfect, _ ** Zarc purred, sending shivers down the boys’ spines.

_ “Father, what…?” _

** _ He is ready, my Specter. You have done perfectly. _ ** Satisfaction rolled off of Zarc in waves it almost made the boys’ knees buckle.

_ “Ready? ….For... what?”  _ The words were slurred in Yuto’s mind. It was so, so hard to think of anything but the pleasure their father was producing. Yuto and Yugo’s eyes rolled to the back of their heads as Zarc intensified the pulses of love for his sons. 

** _He is ready to dedicate his life to you, my Specter. It is time for him to learn the truth._ **

The shock that statement created made Yuto wake up from the trance.  _ “T-truly?”  _ he breathed _ . _

** _Yes. _ ** Zarc hissed into Yuto’s ear.  ** _Now, my darling Yuto, you know what to do, simply give him to me and I’ll do the rest. _ **

_ “...Yes, Father.” _

Shun looked confused at how Yuto and Yuzo just dozed off into space. Just as he was about to comment on it, Yuto snapped back to attention, licking his fangs with delight.

“Y-Yuto… wh-,” Yuto gently placed one finger on Shun’s lips, effectively silencing him, he gently trailed that finger down Shun’s cheek, and under his chin. Shun’s eyes became half laid, sparks of pleasure flying from Yuto’s very touch. 

“Now my precious,” Yuto whispered lovingly. “It’s time for you to meet Father.”

“Fa…” before Shun could utter that simple word Yuto’s finger guided him to look into the lavender haired boy’s eyes once again. Gone were the soft grey eyes that Shun adored, now they were replaced by eyes of gold, shining brightly, pulling Shun in inside. 

…

…

...

Shun blinked, the sense of peace and love gone. When he was fully aware of himself, he jumped in place, looking around. The place looked empty, void. It was black with an array of colors flying around him.

_ “Where-where am I?”  _ he asked himself, before raising his arm ready to duel anyone standing in his way, or if need be give him information. His eyes widened in fear once he saw that he didn’t have his duel disk with him or his deck. He growled in anger seeing that he was defenseless. “Damn…”

** _“Shun Kurosaki_ ** ,”

A voice called, straddling Shun out of his mental cursing. The voice somehow pierced straight into his heart, causing him to panic. “Who is that?” he whispered to himself. His eyes narrowed fury and determination in his glare as he looked around trying to locate the source of that voice. “Who are you and where the hell am I?!” He yelled into the darkness.. 

The voice chuckled, it would be a playful pleasant sound if Shun wasn’t in a fight or flight mode (i.e. fucking desemate everything mode) which made the voice sound quite mocking to his ears. 

**_“We are inside your mind, Shun_** **_Kurosaki,” _**The voice answered.

“My...mind?” he asked still confused. He opened his mouth to yell again but the voice returned. 

** _“As for who I am. I am called…” _ ** a silhouette of a man appeared in front of him, before the shadows disappeared right in front of his eyes. ** _ “Zarc.” _ **

Shun’s eyes widened in surprise. The man in front of him,  _ Zarc.  _ He looked...normal, with his riding outfit, white shirt, blue patches, brown riding pants and boots, and gloves. Objectively, Shun should only see this man as any normal man, with his normal, albeit handsome face, along with what seemed like a kind smile on his lips. However two things stopped any thoughts of this man being “normal”. 

First, he looked like an older version of Yuto, Yuya and Yugo, with silver and green hair. A questioning thought of if the three boys would grow up to be that handsome someday came into his mind before Shun crushed the thought under his boots, stomping on it several times over. 

Second...The man just exudes authority and power that it made Shun feel quite small in his presence. Even though he was relaxed in his stance, looking at Shun like he had known him for a while more than the few seconds that they just met in, along with a relaxed and kind smile on his face. It didn’t add up to Shun...and for once what he truly wanted to do was  _ run. _

“Zarc…” Shun began.

The man’s smile widened when Shun stated his name. 

“You said...that this was inside my mind…” 

Zarc nodded. 

“What am I doing here? How did I get here?” 

Shun wasn’t yelling, instincts telling him not to do anything sudden or stupid, and yelling and demanding explenations from that man while tempting, seemed like a hella of a bad idea. “And why...do you look like Yuto?”

The colors in the background changed into lighter ones; only Zarc seemed to take notice of that. Golden eyes scanned their surroundings as he hummed in satisfaction.

“Naturally  _ I  _ brought you here,” he said matter of factly before, and to Shun’s utter shock, the man sat on the fucking air, crossing his legs looking to the world --well, Shun-- as if what he did was normal or what he said was the obvias answer.

Well, fuck it all. Shun will just go with it. 

“W-why?” he asked, body shaking a bit. 

Zarc’s eyes turned from watching the colors change to looking directly at Shun, his smile turning into a cruel smirk. Shun’s heart was pounding in his ears, the man looked so, so  _ much  _ like Yuto, older, stronger. It was like glimpsing into the future, and no part of him could deny Zarc was simply  _ gorgeous _ . 

“Because you’re Yuto’s now, aren’t you?” he purred, resting his chin on his hand.

Shun’s expression turned shocked, cheeks turning crimson. He was Yuto’s...Yuto’s treasure, and he still couldn’t believe the other boy thought of him like that. 

“T...that’s right,” Shun was torn out of his thoughts at Zarc’s voice. It had become less friendly, filled with authority and purpose, and Shun couldn’t help but feel like he was under the watchful eye of the ultimate predator. 

“You are Yuto’s beloved treasure, his friend in Heartland, his comrade in war,  _ his  _ in every single way possible _ .”  _ Shun shivered; it felt like he was nothing more like an object the way Zarc said it. ““If you’re going to be completely his, then it’s time to know what he truly is, what we truly  _ are _ .” Zarc said, now standing, his hands spread like Yuya does when he’s talking to his audience. The man advanced towards Shun. “That’s why I brought you here, you see,” he whispered.

“I...I don’t understand...”

“Hm,” Zarc smirked. “I suppose the easiest way to start is by introducing myself properly.” Shun was more than lost now. “I am known as Supreme Dragon King Zarc.” 

“Supreme... Dragon... King,” Shun’s eyes widened. It felt like he couldn’t breathe as Zarc...no, Supreme Dragon King, unleashed a fraction of his powers.  _ Run _ he wanted to run, needed to run, the Supreme Dragon King was going to…

“Shun Kurosaki,” his head snapped to meet Zarc’s glowing eyes. “It’s time to listen now, understood?” Shun nodded quickly, and Zarc began his tale. “Long ago, back when the dimensions were all one in the same, my children and I ruled a kingdom of monsters and spirits, back when monsters and humans lived together in one plane. But before we knew it, a war was struck between the monsters and the humans. Using their own magic, my children and I were sealed away by the humans, crystallized for years.

“One day, we broke free, but the world had changed for the worst. The spirits, our comrades, my subjects, were all exiled into another dimension. Cities were built, kingdoms were long gone and buried. I knew back then that I needed to bind my time, in order to protect my sons. We did not belong in that time yet we blended in, having two forms for us to shift into to avoid suspicion. 

“Years passed, and when the time came to reclaim what was mine and my children by right, the Akabas came along and used newly crafted powers in order to defeat me.”

Zarc clenched his hands into fists, gritting his teeth as he recalled Ray Akaba unleashing those  _ cards _ that caused his original form to shatter. The last thing he could remember was the anguished cries of his sons before everything turned dark.

“Were it not for my children taking a part of me into their own hearts and souls I would have been dead long ago, and I shudder to think what would have happened to them had they needed to face Akaba alone, knowing nothing of the past,” Zarc said, his voice dropping into a whisper so low that it would have caused ice to form on Shun’s arms. “And we still have ways to go before I can truly come back to life. To defeat Leo Akaba, the man responsible for the destruction of your home, to take my own place back on the throne as king, and my children as the true heirs and princes. You, Shun Kurosaki, have battled by my son’s side, became his friend, comrade, and one of his beloved treasures. You have proclaimed yourself his always and forever.”

Zarc raised his arm in front of him, removing his glove with his teeth and letting it fall into what passed as the floor, before he began to transform. His nails grew into claws, black as the night. Similar black horns crowned his forehead, giving him a fierce look that could paralyze an army of soldiers. Scales grew over his face, under his eyes. His incisors sharpened into fangs, his tail extended and curled around his feet while, finally, a pair of fearsome dragon wings grew from his back. 

Shun’s breath hitched. His body was shaking; he wanted to fall to his knees before this man, this dragon, Supreme Dragon King Zarc. But Zarc placed his hand gently over Shun’s face, before sending the Xyz user calming emotions. 

“ ** _This is the Hour of the Nightingale, Shun.” _ ** Yuto’s voice came from Zarc’s lips and Shun’s mind couldn’t help but calm down. It wasn’t Yuto saying it; his mind wasn’t in a complete trance but his raging emotions calmed down, and his eyes glazed over. 

** _“Shun,” _ ** Zarc’s voiced echoed by Yuto’s. ** _ “Are you still Yuto’s treasure?”_ **

_“Yes, always and forever,”_ Shun responded immediately, not even realizing what he stated, only feeling this rush of tranquility over his body. Zarc chuckled, licking his fangs, and caressed Shun’s cheek gently. The Xyz used shuddered. 

** _“Are you willing to serve him? Obey his every command, and dedicate your entire being for your prince of Xyz?” _ **

His prince of Xyz, his prince Yuto….

Yes, that made sense. It made so much sense now. He would do anything for Yuto. He would do anything for the person closest to his heart and Yuto would treat him well. Love him, hold him tight, protect him,  _ treasure him _ .

Shun smiled and nodded his head.  _ “Without hesitation.”  _

Zarc’s grin was deadly and if Shun had the capacity to think, he’d find himself thinking that Zarc looked ready to devour him whole. 

** _“If you are his, you become mine as well. And you shall serve and honor me as your King and Lord.” _ **

Shun shuddered again at the thought of giving himself up to this strange dragon man with the face of his Yuto. It felt so wrong, it felt so right, it felt like he wanted to do what he was told, even though he was fighting for his life.

But to fight for a cause such as this, as long as he was under the watchful eye of someone who cared for him...that didn’t sound so bad.

Shun nodded his head and dropped to one knee, bowing his head. “I understand, my Dark Lord. I am honored to serve you.”

** _“Excellent,”_ ** Zarc purred, running his hands through Shun’s teal locks. Shun sighed, pressing into the touch. Then Zarc pressed two fingers into Shun’s forehead, sealing Shun to Yuto, linking their minds together. 

…

…

...

Shun came back to his senses, with Yuto removing two fingers from Shun’s forehead, eyes returning to the enchanting stormy grey, fangs extended. 

"Are you alright, Shun?” Yuto asked, tilting his head in worry. He knew Father would never do anything to hurt what's his but he wanted to make sure. 

Shun blinked, feeling the fog in his mind slowly fade away as he remembered what was going on. He was asked by Yuto and Yugo to come here, being warned about an Academia soldier coming to card them, being called Yuto’s treasure, then there was Zarc…

His eyes widened. Of course! Zarc! His king, his lord! He was asked to be the loyal companion to Prince Yuto. How could he forget something like that? 

He looked at Yuto. Beautiful, gorgeous, majestic. His prince of Xyz showing concern for someone such as him. Shun smiled at his lavender haired prince before falling to one knee, looking up at Yuto with nothing but adoration, love and devotion. He gently grabbed Yuto's hand in his before kissing it once more, eyes closed, head cast down in respect. "I am alright, my beloved Prince. Your father is simply a man who radiates with power like no other." 

_ "And that's just only a  _ fraction  _ of Father's soul."  _ thought Yugo

Shun then turned to Yugo, somehow understanding that Yugo was also a prince that radiated power equal to that of Yuto's. He looked so different than Prince Yuto, but Shun also held no doubt that Yugo would be swift to deliver punishment on those who harmed that which belonged to the Synchro counterpart.

Yuto shivered at the sight, at the words and the emotions behind them. It all gave him a heady feeling, he felt almost drunk on it. His hand moved from Shun's gentle grasp and rested itself under Shun's chin. Yuto caressed his cheek lovingly with his thumb, and Shun sighed in delight, as if he can never get a greater sense of pleasure than from Yuto's touch, praise, his smile, the way his eyes looked like a sky before it unleashed a heavy storm. He wanted it,  _ craved _ it. He would give his own life on the line for such blessings! Anything for his Prince Yuto! Anything for this beautiful soul who called him a treasure!

A thought suddenly came to mind, and he shuddered at the thought of asking it, was he worthy to ask such a thing of his prince? “Yuto, my prince.” said Shun, panting. “May I request something?”

“Anything, Shun. What is it, my precious one?” Yuto asked.

Shun shuddered, his eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head at the husky voice saying those words. “I want to see your other form,” he begged. “You are a dragon and I am your treasure, aren’t I? I want to be held close in your claws and marked as your own. I want to be branded as  _ your _ treasure. I want to be told that I am a priceless gem that will not be taken away from you by anyone. I am yours! Yours! I want it burned onto my pale flesh that I am nothing more than a shiny bauble that is yours to keep.”

Yuto growled. Primal and deep. He grabbed the collar of Shun’s trenchcoat and pulled him closer, crashing their lips together in a bruising passionate kiss, Shun moaned into the kiss, he shuddered as Yuto curled his tongue over his lower lip. He couldn't speak, couldn't think, his mind only busy with the pleasure and the all consuming thoughts of  _ Yuto  _ sending him messages of how important Shun was to him _ .  _

_ My treasure, my precious treasure, I love you, you are mine, mineminemineminemine...forever, always, until the end of time itself. Stay with me, let me hold you, let me keep you close, let me warm you at night, let me kiss you, let no one separate us.  _

Shun gasped at the bombardment of Yuto’s thoughts echoing in his mind. The words that he heard, the intensity of the emotions behind them, the love that they held. How could he  _ ever  _ repay his prince for giving him such blessings? 

_ My prince,  _ he stated as he sent his own thoughts back.  _ My love. My Yuto. How can I… how can I ever be worthy of you? Of your love and devotion? I can only return it to you, give you my very mind and soul to use as you wish. They are yours without question my beloved most precious prince.  _

As they kissed, purple scales formed around Yuto’s neck and face. Curved horns sprouted from his head, his hands turned dark violet, a black scaly tail grew from his tailbone and hit the floor with a soft thump, his nails grew black claws that could leave massive scars on Shun’s back or chest if he wanted to. But he would never use these claws against his treasure. He would never attack Shun.

Unfortunately, as much as they wanted this kiss to continue, they had to separate for air. Shun panted, cheeks flushed as he looked at Yuto’s transformation. He shuddered in delight at the sight. Beautiful, ethereal, it radiated  _ power _ . Yuto looked deadly, like he could tear Shun into pieces with simply one claw, one bite. If Yuto wished, it could be Shun's end right now. He shuddered in delight again; his life was meaningless if Yuto asked it to be. But Yuto didn't wish it so. Such power radiated from Yuto’s body and yet Shun would receive only the gentlest of touches from his Prince. He was such a precious belonging to his Prince, causing him to weep in joy at being so loved by someone as strong, powerful and kind as Prince Yuto.

(And as this was going on, Yugo was biting his tongue at seeing how steamy this was getting)

“Like what you see?” Yuto hissed. A claw gently slid down Shun's cheek. 

“Yes,” Shun replied. “Please...use those claws as you see fit.”

“I want to put my brand on you, mark you more and more, a sign that you are unquestioningly  _ mine.  _ ” Yuto purred. "Do you wish that, my Shun?"

“Yes, yes my prince, yes!” Shun pleaded, knees buckling. “I want it more than  _ anything _ !”

“Beg for it more, Shun,” Yuto commanded. “For I am not just  _ any _ dragon. I am Yuto, son of Supreme Dragon King Zarc and the Future Prince of the Xyz Dimension. I will be the one that will bring our Dimension back to its former glory. Heartland will be our home where I keep my precious treasures safe from the likes of Academia. And we shall make sure  _ no one _ has the gall to destroy it or card my treasures ever again! Beg for my mark, my caged bird. My falcon knight.  _ Beg for it _ !”

“Please Yuto,” Shun stated, falling to his knees, hands clutching the ends of his jacket. “Please my prince, mark me as your own… use me as you wish, my love, I want your mark on me! I  _ need  _ your brand on my skin to remind me that I am only yours. No one can ever have that claim upon me. No one. Not Kaito, not Allen, not Sayaka... _ no one _ . I am only yours!”

_ “Yuto, you’re having  _ way  _ too much fun with this.”  _ Yugo commented. And somewhere, Zarc himself wished he had a physical form and some popcorn so he could truly watch this spectacle.

“ _ Beautiful," _ Yuto breathed. "Truly, truly beautiful. Who can I thank for a gift such as you my treasure?" He caressed Shun's cheek lovingly, and the boy gasped in delight. "Yes I shall mark you, my beloved treasure. Rise now, on your feet my dear and remove your coat for me." 

_ “Wait…you’re making him strip in front of us?!”  _ Yugo thought.

_ “Yep.”  _ Yuto chuckled.

_ “UGHH!!!!!” _

Shun nodded with a smile on his face as he stood up and began removing his blue trenchcoat, letting it drop to the floor without a care. With a swift motion, Shun’s red scarf that signified his status as a member of the Resistance was next to fall, like a large drop of blood that splashed upon the fallen coat. Last was a navy blue shirt which he removed without hesitation, revealing his toned chest and the faint scars he received during the first days of fighting off Obelisk Force after the initial attack.

“Turn around so I can see you better,” Yuto said, making a spinning movement with his finger.

Shun nodded, not ashamed of exposing himself to his prince, and turned around without hesitation. Yuto quickly pushed Shun to the wall with Shun only having a second to brace himself by placing his hands against it.. 

“Oh yes,” Yuto purred, running a finger down Shun’s spine, causing the older boy to throw his head back with a loud moan. Thank goodness the door was locked and sealed with shadows; the last thing they needed were people mistaking this for...something else. “This place is  _ perfect _ .  _ You _ are perfect, my treasure.”

“Yes,” Shun panted, loving how the word made him feel like he was something to love, to covet, to desire. “I am your  _ treasure _ .”

Yuto chuckled as he rested a finger in between Shun’s shoulder blades. There. This would be the best spot to make the mark.

“This will hurt a little, but I promise that it will be all the better once I finish,” Yuto whispered. “Now, hold still.”

Yuto placed his pointer finger on the spot and soon, black flames began to trace images underneath Shun’s neck. A searing heat was placed on his back and Shun screamed. In pain. In pleasure. This was something his Yuto was giving him and he would take it, take this pain and forge it into a weapon that will protect his prince from anyone who stood in their way. 

Seconds passed until Yuto removed his claw and smiled at the mark. It was a coat of arms with a black shield depicting a winged dragon biting its tail, crossed with a black feather and a spear. His personal symbol.

Yuto sighed in delight and satisfaction at his precious treasure being so submissive towards him. Shun still panting, body trembling, face red, eyes glazed over, his mark on Shun's skin...it was utter  _ perfection _ . He approached Shun again, putting his hand gently over Shun's hips. 

"M-my prince?" Shun asked, a little confused. 

“Just one more thing I want to do…” Yuto said, licking his fangs.

“W...what are you AGHHH!!”

Yuto’s fangs sunk deep into Shun’s shoulder and it felt like Shun’s body was struck by lightning, the bite striking every nerve in his body, paralyzing him. The Raidraptor duelist felt his voice turn into moans from how swiftly the pain melted into an indescribable euphoria, his knees buckling and the only thing that kept him from falling was Yuto’s tail wrapped around his waist.

Shun gasped for breath, as Yuto licked the blood from the wound lovingly. Sealing the wound and leaving his bite mark on Shun. 

“W...what did you do, Yuto?” Shun whispered, voice hoarse from the screaming. Yuto ran a finger over the bite mark, making Shun shudder and Yuto to sigh in utter satisfaction.

“It was for good luck,” Yuto whispered, retracting his tail. “Win your duel in honor of me, my falcon knight. Win and bring us one step closer in bringing Father back to life. Win so we can enact revenge on Professor Akaba, so that we can rescue Ruri from his clutches, so that Academia will  _ feel _ our wrath when we take them down.”

Shun sat against the wall, face flushed, panting, his eyes focusing on Yuto. He wanted to kneel before him again but his body had gained shock after shock of pain and pleasure he couldn't think he could move. "Yo-your wish Is my command, beloved one.” Shun stated.

“Good,” said Yuto, patting Shun’s head. His signs of his dragon self began to fade away, until he was human once more. “Yugo and I need to go see Reiji about the Academia intruder. I’ll contact you if I need anything,” he gave Shun one more searing kiss. "Good luck my dearest treasure."

And Shun was still in a daze even after Yuto and Yugo left the room. He laid completely on the floor looking at the ceiling, breathing hard until he got his composure back. He shuddered, knowing that Yuto’s mark was inked onto his skin. He made a mental note to check it out in the privacy of his room at the LDS tower. It was a symbol of his undying loyalty, devotion and love to his one and only dragon prince. He would not fail.

_ “Yes, Prince Yuto,”  _ Shun whispered in their mind link.  _ “I will win this for you. I promise.” _

***************

Yuya was, to put it simply, getting his ass handed to him.

Every single time he attempted to obtain an Action Card, Kachidoki would beat him to it or either beat him up so he could get to it. And with each Action Card Kachidoki obtained, his Idaten the Combat Star grew stronger and stronger.

And all he needed was just one more Action Card to knock off all of Yuya’s life points.

Yuya was chasing towards an Action Card sticking out of the ground, Kachidoki hot on his tail. He had to get it. He had to  _ win _ this. He had to do this not only for himself, but also for his brothers and for his Father.

He wouldn’t fail them. He wasn’t going to fail his family!

As he felt his legs burning with each step he took, Yuya leapt toward the card just as Idaten unleashed his attack on the paralyzed Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Smoke covered the area…

Everyone was waiting for the smoke to disappear, to see who obtained the Action Card. As it died down, they all noticed the one who obtained the card...

…

…

…

...Yuya!

Yuya groaned as he looked at the card in his hand. Even though he just saved himself, Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon was destroyed, Idaten the Combat Star was standing tall at 3600 ATK and his life points were now at a measly 100.

“So you survived just by the skin of your teeth,” Kachidoki tsked. “But that won’t save you now. Soon, you will succumb to the darkness within your very soul.”

Yuya slowly rose to his feet, gritting his teeth at everything he had tried to do up until now. Kachidoki was something else; he wasn’t human at all. 

“Fall into the pitch-black darkness, Yuya Sakaki,” Kachidoki stated.

And then...something awakened inside of Yuya.

It was like a fire burning in his soul, slowly causing something to awaken. Something dark. Something powerful.

And Yuya did not resist it; he  _ embraced it _ . He could feel the sensation flow through his veins as he grinned. Yes. This would be how he would defeat Kachidoki.

So he fell, fell into the darkness. Yuya would not be afraid of this darkness; he knew that the darkness was not evil at all. It was a soothing force that was just an extension of his Father’s love..

In the few seconds that it took for Yuya to embrace the darkness within his soul, the sky began to darken. 

Then, a pair of red lights shone within the darkness.

“What the -- “ Kachidoki asked, wondering where this change of weather came from. He then focused his gaze at Yuya’s blood-red eyes as if he was staring into the eyes of a  _ demon _ _ . _

This couldn’t be coming from someone who used monsters based off of animals performing in a circus!

“My turn,” Yuya stated calmly, red eyes hidden by his equally crimson hair, drawing his card. He then showed off the Action Card he received. “I play the Action Card - Mad Hurricane to return all cards on my field back into my deck.”

As he said this, a howling wind shattered his Pendulum monsters which he placed back into the deck, much to the surprise of everyone.

“Next, I shall set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 3 Performapal Turntoad and Scale 5 Performapal Cheer Mole!”

He placed the two Pendulum Monsters onto his Duel Disk, the word PENDULUM appearing in rainbow font before said monsters -- a toad with a top hat and a pink furred mole in a cheerleading outfit -- rose into the sky, the numbers ‘3’ and ‘5’ underneath them.

_ “Swing, pendulum of my soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster servants!”  _ Yuya chanted as his pendulum swung back and forth between his Pendulum scale.

“From my Extra Deck I call upon both the Level 4 Performapal Camelump and Level 4 Performapal Silver Claw!” said Yuya, placing the two Pendulum Monsters onto his Duel Disk.

Summoned onto the field were a camel with a top hat (800 ATK) and a silver wolf with a red bowtie covered in yellow polka-dots. (1800 ATK)

“What is he trying to accomplish?” Gongenzaka muttered.

“Wait…” Yuzu gasped. “Don’t tell me Yuya’s trying to…”

“With two Level 4 monsters on the field, I construct the  _ Overlay Network _ !” Yuya announced.

The black galaxy of stars emerged on the field as Silver Claw and Camelump turn into beams of black and orange light respectively. They flew into the air, swirling round and round before they struck the event horizon of the Overlay Network. A dark wind began to howl, causing the shadows around Yuya to dance with glee.

_ “Dragon who traverses through darkness and mirrors; emerge from the looking glass and reveal the dark desires that lies within my opponent's heart! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Emerge Black Mirror Xyz Dragon!” _

From within the Overlay Network, a large black dragon rose onto the field. Its body looked like it was made out of wrought iron, its scales formed into strange jagged edges. The center of its head had a large diamond and from its back were four long diamond-shaped wings the color of oil with a rainbow-colored sheen. 

And the eyes...the eyes of the dragon looked like cracked mirrors. The pupils seemed to draw anything it reflected into the center like dual black holes, sucking them into a void of infinite pain where there was no escape. Two green Overlay Units circled its body while it stared at its surrounding, its eyes multiplying the bamboo forest tenfold. (2500 ATK)

“What the -- ?” Kachidoki asked, seeing the monster in front of him.

“Yuya just _ Xyz Summoned _ ?!” Shuzo gasped.

But upon seeing the stats of Yuya’s dragon, Kachidoki chuckled. “You have such a powerful monster, but it doesn’t matter. If you go into battle with Idaten, its attack will drop to 0 because it has a lower level than -- “ 

At this, Yuya couldn’t help but return Kachidoki’s laugh with a laugh of his own. Loud, frantic, maniacal, like nails on a chalkboard.

“W...what’s so funny?” asked Kachidoki, stepping back in alarm. This new side of Yuya was starting to frighten him.

“Xyz Monsters don’t have Levels, you idiot. They have  _ Ranks _ !” Yuya stated with a feral grin. Black Mirror stood beside Yuya, the boy was so proud that he has summoned this beautiful new monster. He scratched under its chin and Black Mirror chirped happily. 

“W...what?!” Kachidoki exclaimed. “If it doesn’t have Levels, shouldn’t it be at Level 0 then?!”

(And somewhere, Yuto couldn’t help but snort at such an assumption.)

“And I won’t even have to battle that pathetic monster of yours because I activate the effect of Black Mirror Xyz Dragon,” Yuya continued. “If I detach an Overlay Unit, I can select a monster you control then send it back to your deck. Then, Black Mirror Xyz Dragon can increase its attack equal to half of your targeted monster! Devouring Reflection!”

One of Black Mirror Xyz Dragon’s Overlay Units shattered before the reflection of Idaten the Combat Star was reflected in its multiple eyes. The monster itself looked in horror as it could hear each and every reflection laugh as the dragon’s eyes radiated an aura of darkness. The Fusion Monster looked down in horror as it was sucked into a black vortex all while the dragon’s attack was raised. (2500 -) 4300 ATK)

“No way…” Kachidoki whimpered.

Yuya chuckled. Kachidoki was defenseless. He could end it right here and now with just a single attack, and Black Mirror was excited to have some fun.

But he didn’t want to end this duel yet. There was something else he had to do...

And that was to put on a grand finale for the audience!

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” Yuya announced amongst the dark storm clouds, the rain, the roaring thunder. He still had the air of a showman, albeit a little twisted, it had a certain charm to it. A dark twisted aura filled with such sweet innocence. “Before we end this duel, let me introduce you to my new monster. Please give Dark Mirror Xyz Dragon a round of applause!”

Thunder cracked, light illuminating Yuya's face to Kachidoki. Eyes as red as blood shining feral and full of sadistic glee. A twisted smirk on his face that would give his older brother a run for his money. 

(Somewhere a sense of pride came over Yuri and he didn't know why.) 

“That monster is…” Tatsuya began.

“Kinda scary…” Ayu added.

“Yuya is giving me lots of shivers!” Futoshi said with a shudder as if someone poured ice down his back.

“Hmm?” said Yuya, tilting his head when he heard no applause. No cheers. All he heard was utter silence. “Where’s the applause? You’re all hurting my monster’s feelings~ It’s his first time on stage and he’s very shy. Just look at him!”

Indeed, Black Mirror Xyz Dragon looked around shyly, hiding his face with his wings that groaned like a rusty gate. Somewhere, Dark Rebellion roared to help support his little brother.

"Aww, the poor thing," said Ayu, now looking at the dragon. It was Yuya Onii-chan's monster right? Besides, it looked kinda cute in a terrifying way. Without hesitation, she stood up and shouted, “You can do it, Black Mirror! I believe in you!”

Yuzu smiled and did the same. “Go Black Mirror! I’m with you!”

Yoko smiled as she cupped her hands around her mouth, wishing Yuto was here to see this. She could also sense that this dragon was Zarc’s doing, but didn’t want to give that away just yet. "Do your best, sweetheart!"

“Um, what she said!” Shuzo added, not sure if this dragon was “sweet” at all.

Slowly, people began following Ayu’s example in cheering the shy dragon on. The audience began cheering for Black Mirror, causing Yuya to smile. He always loved it when the crowd came together for a duel!. 

“Look at that!” Nico Smiley shouted into the microphone. “Everyone’s support is on this brand new addition to the duel! Don’t be shy, Black Mirror! Go on and soak up your fifteen seconds of fame!”

Black Mirror roared as everyone applauded. Odd-Eyes and Beast-Eyes also roared in approval, neither of them jealous that Black Mirror would unleash the finishing move.

Kachidoki, on the other hand, still looked terrified and tried looking for an Action Card. Yuya chuckled, ready to have some fun.

"Black Mirror, gooooooo FETCH!" said Yuya using one hand to propel him up so he now sat on Black Mirror's back. The new dragon wagged his tail happily as his eyes targeted Kachidoki as if the duelist was a bone and Black Mirror was a dog ready to gnaw on it..

Kachidoki immediately turned tail, wanting nothing to do with this monster. How could people  _ cheer _ for such a thing? It looked ready to eat him whole!

He kept looking around the tall bamboo stalks, practically chopping them in half in order to see if any of them held an Action Card. Surely there was an Evasion or Damage Banish  _ somewhere _ in this damn place!

As he kept looking around, he sensed a shadow looming over him. Kachidoki began to sweat as he turned around to see Black Mirror Xyz Dragon  _ right behind him _ !

“You won’t be able to find one since you took nearly all of them for your monster,” Yuya chuckled, standing on the back of the Xyz Dragon. “But if you want...we can make this a  _ game _ ! Black Mirror Xyz Dragon  _ loves  _ games! Don’t you, boy?”

Black Mirror nodded his head and grinned at Kachidoki, revealing his black fangs. Yoko couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“What’s so funny, Yoko-san?” asked Futoshi. 

“Seems Yuya found a new mischievous side to himself is all,” she answered. She looked at Yuya; damn, the boy looked possessed again. But this time, she didn’t see the golden eyes that Zarc has. They were shining rubies, filled with power and mischief. It was a mix between Yusho and Zarc in a sense: the man who wished to entertain and the dark spirit that wanted to frighten his opponents. 

Yuya giggled as he watched the sweat falling down Kachidoki’s face. “Come on! Let’s play this game of ‘Save yourself, Kachidoki!’ Save yourself before Black Mirror Xyz Dragon catches you~!”

And as Black Mirror Xyz Dragon chased after him, Kachidoki ran faster than he ever had in his life. All the while Black Mirror couldn’t look more like an eager puppy even if he tried.

“I, the man Gongenzaka, am not sure what to think of this,” Gongenzaka muttered. He knew how Yuya wanted to make his duels a show but this seemed more...mischievous of him.

“Dark and scary doesn’t necessarily mean monstrous,” Yoko replied. A subversion of how horror plays out: the horrifying creature was actually benevolent the entire time and just wanted a friend. 

Kachidoki kept running, running, running as if he was being chased by a ghost. This thing would not stop, this thing would not cease in its running until Kachidoki was eaten whole! It looked truly terrifying; its mere  _ presence  _ made Kachidoki tremble in fear. He didn’t dare to look back, and kept running as fast and as far as he could all while trying to find an Action Card. 

But after two, maybe three, minutes of searching. Kachidoki collapsed against a wall of bamboo. He wasn’t going to make it. All he could do was look up as Black Mirror Xyz Dragon approached him with its silver eyes with numerous cracks, leaned close, opened its mouth as wide as dragonly possible and...and…

….Licked him.

“AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Yoko said, clutching her stomach. “Oh, that was good.” She clapped gleeful at the show. 

Others couldn’t help but join her. The fearsome monster was more like an excited puppy than a monstrous dragon from how he interacted with Kachidoki!

Yuya chuckled as he pointed at his opponent. “It’s been fun, but the curtains must fall now. Ah well, let’s do this again some other time!

“Now my monster, attack Kachidoki directly!  _ Dark Reflection Fragmented Strike _ !”

Black Mirror Xyz Dragon flapped his wings as a gust of wind decorated with shards of glass flew towards Kachidoki. The haughty Ryozanpaku duelist had nowhere to run, his back against the thick bamboo stalks.

And with a single attack, Kachidoki’s lifepoints dropped all the way down to 0 and he himself crashed through the bamboo and landed flat on his back with a thud.

“Good boy~” Yuya cooed, scratching underneath the chin of the dragon with the body made of iron.

“And with an unexpected turn of events, the winner of this duel is Yuya Sakaki!” Nico Smiley announced. Everyone cheered as the Action Duel transformed into globules of light and Black Mirror Xyz Dragon disappeared along with it..

“He did it!” Tatsuya, Ayu and Fujoshi shouted..

“So hot blooded!!!” Shuzo shouted, a fiery aura surrounded him. 

Yoko smiled, briefly seeing Yuto in Yuya’s place.  _ I’m so proud of you, Yuya. You didn’t fall into the darkness after all. I wonder what Zarc is saying right about now. _

_ “Did I...really do that?”  _ asked Yuya, staring at his Duel Disk, and at his new Xyz monster.

** _You did, my shooting star. _ ** Zarc praised.  ** _You defeated your opponent while still putting on a show! He stood no chance against Dark Mirror Xyz Dragon._ **

At the praise, Yuya heard the dragon roar in joy. Oh Black Mirror was so happy to have proven himself in battle today!

But the praise was short-lived when he saw Kachidoki slowly sitting up. Despite how ruthless his opponent was in battle, Yuya couldn’t help feeling sorry for what Kachidoki was forced to go through in order to become the best.

So when Yuya approached Kachidoki, extending a hand to help his rival stand up. But, to Yuya’s surprise…

Kachidoki slapped the hand away in disgust.

_ Huh?  _ Yuya thought as Kachidoki slowly rose to his feet.  _ What...what did I do wrong? _

Kachidoki growled before he turned to the audience, staring at the group of people looking down at him with disdain. Yuya mentally noted that those people were most likely students from the Ryopanzuku school and its founder. 

Kachidoki said nothing, but instead placed a fist onto his open palm and bowed. He then walked away, all while Yuya felt conflicted. Kachidoki played dirty, yes. But did he deserved this type of treatment from his fellow students? Not likely.

Yoko leaned forward in her seat. Kachidoki was a tough opponent with a rough childhood...but compared to what she knew about what was to come, this meant nothing.

She can only hope that Yuto and Yugo accomplished what they needed to do today as Yuya returned to his seat and Yuzu prepared for her duel. A part of Yoko couldn’t believe that Yuzu was one fourth of a single person who caused this entire mess to happen…

And another part of her hoped that she would be able to save Yuzu and her other counterparts from whatever Zarc had in store for them.

_ Yuzu... _ Yoko thought as she saw took a glance at the pink-haired girl with sympathy in her eyes.  _ If only you knew what was in store for you... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Black Mirror XYZ Dragon is an OC Card that belongs to Green_Phantom_Queen. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed.
> 
> (GPQ: Also, Black Mirror Xyz Dragon in this fanfic is given a personality like a little brother wanting to make his nii-sans proud. Just imagine him happily shouting "NII-SANNN!" when Dark Rebellion praises Black Mirror)


	6. Chapter 5 (Part 2): Dashed Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopes are dashed throughout and no one is happy when revelations occur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 is here guys 
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

** _Part 2_ **

Yugo and Yuto glared at  Nakajima as he, once again, stood in their way to talk to Reiji, standing there like a brick wall. 

“Are we gonna keep doing the same song and dance everytime we come to talk?” Yuto growled impatiently.

Yugo very much wanted to punch him, Yuto...well, he was weighing his options but he was also leaning on the side of “Give this guy a punch at _least_ once.”

“Let them in,  Nakajima,” Reiji stated from the other side. “It’s alright, they are our allies and are always welcomed here.”

Neither boy believed that for a second, but Nakajima just nodded his head, stepped aside and opened the door for them. Yuto and Yugo wordlessly nodded their heads and entered, seeing Reiji waiting for them and Reira not too far behind. 

“So...Yugo, Yuto, what can I do for you right now?” he asked, removing his eyes from the huge ass screen projecting the duels in the multiple stadiums to look at the two counterparts. 

Yuto took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. There was no need to let his emotions take over at a crucial time as this. “We wanted to talk to you about something important.”

“We think there’s an intruder from the Fusion dimension here, and they’re after Shun and Yuto.” Yugo explained. 

Reiji hummed. “And what makes you say that?” He asked, a bit suspicious. 

“Yuya said that he saw someone that looked exactly like Yuzu yesterday, but he couldn’t be sure,” said Yugo. “You install security cameras all around the city, and we thought to warn you and see if you can find her.” 

Reiji seemed to accept the answers and deemed them truthful. He nodded. “Yes, we’ve detected a powerful spike in Fusion summoning energy, and we’ve been on the lookout for any intruders. After that little incident with Sora, we can’t take any chances.” he turned back to the monitor and focused on the current duel, which was Yuya about to fight off Isao Kachidoki.

“As soon as another Fusion summoning energy spikes, we can head to investigate. Right now however I am quite curious as to how Yuya Sakaki is gonna fair in this duel.”

The two brothers’ eyes widened and their eyes were glued to the screen as Yuya entered the field. Both of them smiled softly cheering him on best they could. 

…

….

….

The duel ended in quite a spectacle, and both Yugo and Yuto looked at the screen with pride, happiness and relief at seeing Yuya finish Kachidoki off with Black Mirror Xyz Dragon. Yuto could sense Dark Rebellion roaring in approval at his little brother doing such a fantastic job.. 

“So, Yuya Sakaki now knows Xyz Summoning,” Reiji commented. “And by the looks of things, this monster gives off powerful signals of Xyz Summoning Energy to boot.”

_ “You did it, Yuya!”  _ Yugo cheered.  _ “You beat him!” _

_ “We’re so proud of you, Yuya,”  _ Yuto added.

An alarm suddenly sounded, snapping all three of them to attention as the scene on the screen, changed into a hooded person along with a giant man, and before they know it, a light came from her duel desk, and the person in front of her was no more, turned into a card. 

When the footage was rewound, it stopped when it showed a better look at En-Moon’s face. There was no denying it; she looked just like Yuzu Hiiragi.

_ “That’s…” _

_ “En-Moon!” _

Yuto’s felt like his heart would stop, and his breathing became ragged, fear anger worry hatred all swirled around in his heart, his eyes teared up from the sheer pain he was feeling. Yugo put his arms around him quickly, and rested his head on the crock of his neck, Father quickly coming with some assistance in calming Yuto down. 

Yuto took deep breaths, and let go of Yugo, grateful for his brother and Father for what they did.

“So that’s her,” Reiji stated. 

“Must be,” said Yugo with a nod. “We need to go after her now before she starts going after any other Xyz duelists in the tournament.”

“I have a pretty good idea where she’ll be heading next,” said Reiji, noticing Yuu Sakuragi just about to defeat his opponent on a screen. “But we have to head out now.”

Reiji then looked down at Reira -- who had been quiet the entire time, to the point that neither Yuto nor Yugo noticed he was there -- and nodded his head. “Stay here until I come back.”

“Okay…” Reira whispered with a slight nod of his head.

Reiji began to walk off, with Yuto following him. Upon noticing Yugo just standing there, Yuto turned around.

"Yugo?" he asked. 

"Um, just...just go without me. I'm not needed," Yugo said, waving Yuto off. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, totally," Yugo replied, but Yuto wasn't convinced. 

** _Go Yuto, I'll take care of your brother, but make sure to make contact with En-Moon. _ ** Zarc said, patting Yuto’s shoulder.

The Xyz user sighed. "Yes, Father," he answered before giving Yugo one last glance and following Reiji to where En-Moon was.

As Yugo watched them walk away, Zarc wrapped his arms around the Synchro duelist, sending him emotions of love and worry.  ** _What’s wrong, my crystal? _ ** Zarc asked, sensing Yugo’s frustration.

Yugo sighed.  _ “It’s just...Father, I feel… so left out right now. Yuya got new cards and Yuto has a treasure of his own. I...I’m afraid that I’m not strong enough. I just want to be able to go out there and help! Yuya and Yuto have always been closer to one another, that kiss Yuya gave Yuto is proof enough. I want to do that with them, or with Yuri...”  _ There was a small blush on his face. Zarc couldn't help but smile at that and kiss Yugo's cheek.  _ "I want my treasure back, I want my Rin!”  _

Tears of frustration started to fall down Yugo's cheeks, it's been so  _ long  _ since he had seen her beautiful face, or hugged her. Since he held her hand or wrapped her in his arms and twirled her around only for her to giggle and tell him to stop. Since she got mad at him whenever he did something stupid. Since they argued over small things. Since they dueled against each other to hone their skills, practiced taking turns riding their D-Wheel, stared at the poster of Jack Atlas in the hopes of challenging him one-on-one at the Friendship Cup. He missed her so much. 

** _Oh, my Yugo,_ ** Zarc sighed as all these sadness and frustration came from his beautiful son. He did not mean to ignore his plight or make him feel like he was in a lesser place than his younger brothers. Yugo shined so brightly, his presence is always loud that you can't help but see him, couldn't help but love the beautiful child once you knew him. To see that, unlike Yuya or Yuto, he only had  _ one _ person that was close to him just broke his heart. To feel Yugo’s frustrations of having to struggle to live day after day as a Common made him want to topple that stupid class system and have his son appointed as the prince of the Synchro Dimension so he  _ never _ had to feel that sorrow ever again.

**_I'm so sorry, my darling treasure, _**he kissed Yugo's forehead, before placing a kiss on his lashes, his nose, his chin, **_Please be a little more_** **_patient, Yugo. I know what it’s like to feel that way. But there are pressIng matters to attend to. _**

_ “I want Rin...I want Rin by my side right now!”  _ Yugo screamed. _ “Why can’t I go rescue her? WHY CAN’T I SEE HER?! WHY?!” _

** _Because Akaba will come right after her with wave after wave of his Obelisk Force soldiers to haul her back to the tower and then fling you out of his dimension without a way back. But with the bracelets that have our power stored within them, and with Yuri there to fool that idiotic man, we will have allies behind enemy lines. We'll have Rin and Ruri protected as should be, and they will return to you and your brother’s arms. You will get your darling treasure back in your arms when the time is right. _ **

_ “...Fine. I’ll be patient, Father.”  _ Yugo spat out in defeat.

** _I'm sorry dear one, I know I'm asking a lot of you. _ ** Zarc kissed Yugo's forehead again, the kiss lingered for a few moments.  ** _Trust in me, my beloved Yugo. Everything is going to be okay._ **

But Yugo did not reply, and went to catch up with Reiji and Yuto. 

***************

Serena wanted a challenge.

That Xyz duelist she faced hours ago was a complete pushover.  _ This  _ was one of the refugees from the Xyz Dimension? Ha! If they were really  _ that _ easy to defeat, it was no wonder that Obelisk Force took over so easily. 

With enough duelists under her belt, perhaps  _ this _ will be just enough proof that she needed to finally tell Professor Akaba to put her in the front lines. She has grown so goddamn sick and tired of him telling her to stay, to the point that she had been beating up some of the more...misogynistic students of Academia for whenever she found that she was to be stuck on the island.

But now she had a chance. And she wasn’t going to waste it.

And sure, she needed to have a babysitter stay by her side -- she never bothered to learn their names because they all acted and sounded the same in the end -- but he didn’t question her heading off to this dimension. He would keep an eye on her yes, but she wanted to duel all by herself.

So at the very least, she did make a note that his name should be remembered.

She was also tired of facing the same Fusion monsters over again. Many of the boys she fought didn’t even  _ have _ Fusion Archetypes and were thus using generic Fusion monsters like Giltia the Dark Knight, Flame Swordsman, Rabid Horseman...ha! In the end, they all fell to Lunalight Cat Dancer one way or the other..

If anything, Serena wanted a challenge. And what better way than to satisfy both the approval and challenges she desired then going after these Xyz Duelists?

One of the contestants that used Xyz summoning, from what the announcer said, he was known as “Yuu Sakuragi”, was leaving from backstage of the stadium. Just when Serena has arrived to confront him.

The Xyz user Sakuragi looked surprised to see her, but Serena was just waiting impatiently for the chance to duel him.

“Huh? Are you the one who called me here?” Sakuragi asked, confused. 

Serena removed her overcoat, smirking, and extended her hand ready for battle. A voice stopped her in her tracks, as a 16 year old boy with silver hair arrived from the side.

“The one who called you here was me.”

“President?” Sakuragi asked, wondering why the CEO of Leo Corp., was also here. He dismissing the Xyz user after complimenting him on his previous duel, and the boy headed to leave. 

“Hold it!” Serena yelled, not wanting her prey escape that easily, but this “President,” stopped her, grabbing her arm and not letting her go. “Let go of me!” she yelled. She wasn’t gonna get bossed around that easily, as Sakuragi left. 

Serena glared at the intruder who had stopped her from her goal and released her arm from his grip. “If you’re gonna get in my way then I’ll take you out first!” 

“No, Serena. Leave this to me.”

Serena turned around to the taller cloaked figure, who imitated her and removed his own over coat. He was a man with short teal hair spiked up, burn marks over his left eye and an eyepatch covering it. From the looks of him -- the black shirt and green jacket covering a muscular build and the expression on his face -- he looked like someone who has had experience fighting in a war.

“Stay out of this, Barrett,” Serena ordered. This was her chance to prove herself, and she would take everyone that came in her way herself. She didn’t need some  _ man _ to tell her what she could or couldn't do!

“The duty given to me by the Professor is to protect you from any sparks that may fall upon you,” Barrett clarified, voice calm as if he was used to Serena’s impatience.

She tisked, glaring at him but let it go knowing he won’t back down. Her goal was to get rid of any and all Xyz duelists in his path. So she could give this duel to Barrett and she’ll just destroy her own targets herself. Seren then took notice at the boy that appeared alongside the president, who was glaring at her back with grey stormy eyes that looked at her with rage and hatred. 

“What’s wrong?” asked Serena. “Afraid that your little friend is gonna lose?”

_ Shun is far away from you, En-Moon.  _ Yuto thought, knowing that Shun was in another stadium. He didn’t want to warn Shun when he was in the middle of an important match; it was already taking everything he had from clawing this girl’s throat out.

“Stand down, Yuto,” The President stated.

‘Yuto’ glared at said president from the corner of his eyes, not giving his back to her. 

_ ‘Who the hell do you think you are ordering me around, Reiji?”  _ Yuto thought, but said nothing, keeping most of his attention on En-Moon. He had to heed Father’s words and commands, En-Moon wasn’t to be killed, and if possible should be recruited to their cause by any means necessary. 

“Fine, but I’m keeping my eye on her,” he said, eyes not leaving the girl with Ruri’s face. Selena glared back. She could feel it, a proper challenge from this boy. She couldn’t  _ wait  _ to duel him. 

Barrette and Reiji readied their duel disks. “Seal off this area, let no one in unless I order it otherwise,” Reiji commanded.

Selena and Yuto stood to the side, both of them anxious to see how the duel will play out and how they wanted to be at each other’s throats once it was over.

_ “Duel!”  _

***************

Yuzu’s opponent, Mikiyo Naname, stood little to no chance against the might of Yuzu’s Fusion Summoning.

That is what Yuya thought as he watched his childhood friend fight off against Mikiyo’s simplistic use of two Freya, the Spirit of Victory and Gellenduo. No matter what monster Mikiyo would summon next -- most likely something involving Tribute Summoning -- it would not compare to the power of Bloom Diva, the Melodious Choir. Anything that Mikiyo could unleash, the angelic Fusion monster would send it right back.

And that was what Yuya loved about Yuzu; despite things going south, she never gave up. How did she react after losing to Masumi the first time? She felt sad for a while, but then decided to teach herself Fusion Summoning. Not just to one-up her rival, but because she wanted to be of good use to the school. 

(Of course, she had to ask  _ Sora _ of all people how to use a simple Polymerization card, but Yuya had to admit that Sora did something good despite all of the atrocities he committed)

When she showed off her Fusion skills in her second chance against Masumi? Yuzu displayed much more confidence in herself. Here, she shone bright with her Melodious monsters by her side. The way she played her cards, the way she proudly stated the summoning chants for Sonata the Melodious Diva and Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir was a far cry from the girl who was chasing illusions and had her ass handed to her in three turns.

And despite this growth, Yuzu was still a kind and compassionate duelist who cared for her opponent. Showing Masumi how she mastered Fusion Summoning was one thing. But having her newly summoned monster save Masumi from a nasty fall? That was the true spirit of an entertainer right there.

Even prior to her learning Fusion was she there for Yuya. Of course, there were times where she was flustered by him or how she’d hit him over the head with her  _ harisen _ , but that didn’t lessen all of those moments they shared together. She was there when he needed it the most, and he wanted to pay her back somehow.

It was right there when Yuzu Fusion Summoned Bloom Diva onto the field that Yuya realized something.

Yuzu Hiragi...was his  _ treasure _ .

This must have been what Yuto and Yugo felt around Ruri and Rin. This indescribable  _ need _ to keep these girls safe from harm and hold them in their claws against anything that could hurt them.He could feel something bloom in his chest, the need to keep, the need to protect, to hold on to something precious and never let go. He wanted to reach out to Yuzu, go to her, spread his wings protectively over them and claim her as his very own precious treasure.

_ “I want her,”  _ he thought, lips parted, and eyes never leaving Yuzu’s excited happy face as she entertained the crowd. She was his best friend, she wanted to do anything to protect him, even facing an unknown Darkness, worried and cared about his brother Yuto and Shun and their tragedy, he was sure she’ll love Yugo and Yuri as well. 

Zarc chuckled in the back of Yuya’s mind and ran his hand through his hair. Yuya purred in delight as he told his Father how he now had a treasure that he wanted.

_ Yuzu is my treasure, my preciouspreciousprecious treasure... _ Yuya stated.  _ I want her, protect her, shield her from Professor Akaba. She is mineminemineminemine! _

As this was going on, Yoko saw the sparkle in her son’s eye. She knew that Yuya and Yuzu were close, but she also felt concern as to what Zarc had in store for Yuzu.

Or better yet, just what Zarc had planned in general.

As she shifted through everything that she learned this morning, Yoko recalled how Yuto and Yugo wanted to buy those silver bracelets on the day she brought them shopping. They said that the bracelets were “gifts”, but upon seeing the bracelet Yuzu always wore on her right wrist, that’s when Yoko started to get suspicious.

What would Zarc want with a couple of bracelets? He could already possess his son after all! What could he even accomplish with them in the first place? These girls were the keys to bringing back this “Ray Akaba,” so why go all this distance when he can simply  _ kill  _ these girls to neutralize this threat? If by all means even  _ one  _ girl was gone, wouldn’t that insure Zarc is  _ never  _ defeated or challenged again? What’s his angle? 

For one thing, if Zarc did kill Yuzu, then it would break Yuya’s heart. Zarc did say that he’d put his sons’ safety over his own. The man did seem like a doting father, so she could believe that he would keep the girls alive simply for his sons’ sake..She remembered seeing Yuto and Yugo’s heart-breaking fear on their faces when Zarc mentioned that the girls would  _ die  _ if Ray is revived, and she knew that she never wanted to see that look again. 

She knew she could trust one thing at least; Zarc loved their boys more than anything. And he would simply do  _ anything  _ for them, of that she was sure. 

But ‘anything’ was a tall order, and she herself didn’t know what Zarc is capable of, physically or even morally. 

For the time being, she would see where this would go. And she  _ did  _ have an appointment to keep with Himika Akaba...

When the duel was over, she placed a hand on her son’s shoulder, gave him a smile, and motioned with her head that it was time to go. Yuya nodded his head, hastily telling everyone that he was going to help his mother cook dinner for tonight, and mother and son left before anyone could question why  _ Yuya  _ would be so eager to cook.

After all, it wasn’t like he was hosting anyone at the moment.

***************

Yugo had arrived mid-duel before going to his brother’s side as they watched Reiji and the big guy, Barrett, duke it out. He tried not to show his distress or displeasure the moment he was close to Yuto. And considering the duel that was going on along with the situation with En-Moon, it was easy to get distracted from thinking about Rin or how much he feels tossed to the side by his family at the moment. 

Looking at the duel, Yugo was, to say the least, impressed at what he saw.. 

Barrett, on the other hand, thought he had seen it all throughout his years under Professor Akaba’s service.

Reiji’s latest move proved him wrong.

The teen, now at 200 lifepoints, unleashed something known as  _ Pendulum Summoning _ , allowing him to summon multiple monsters in his hand and then used those to Xyz Summon a new monster onto the field.

Barret was used to fighting off three or four Xyz Duelists at a time. That didn’t surprise him.

What  _ did _ surprise him was that Dark Contract of the Swamp King Reiji offered for the Fusion Monster that stood in front of him: D/D/D Oracle King D’Arc.

This boy was an experienced duelist, that he could tell.

But Barrett wasn’t going to let him win. He had sacrificed too much for the promised utopia of the Professor. And he would give up his life if it means to protect Serena from danger.

“D/D/D Oracle King D’Arc attack Beastborg Panther Predator to end this duel!” Reiji commanded.

The feminine Fiend flew towards her target, sword glowing with a violet light. But Barrett was already prepared for that.

“Trap Card activate, Beastborg Medal of Honor!” Barrett announced, revealing his face-down card of a silver medal that showed two crossed lances piercing a yellow star. “Because my Panther Predator is targeted for an attack, I can destroy it then Special Summon its Fusion Materials back onto the field.”

The robotic Panther Warrior was covered in a golden light before it shattered. Then, a black hole materialized on Barrett’s side of the field before Panther Warrior (2000 ATK) and Dark Sentinel (1500 ATK) appeared once again.

“Medal of Honor’s second effect activates!” Barrett continued. “Now, both of us take damage equal to my monsters’ total attack points, so this shall end in a draw!”

Both Panther Warrior and Dark Sentinel shrunk into two orbs of red and yellow light. They danced and swirled into they fused into a humongous fireball ready to incinerate Reiji where he stood.

“That’ll show him,” Serena smirked.

“...Oh really?” Reiji asked, adjusting his glasses.

“What?” asked Barrett.

“I activate the effect of D/D/D Oracle King d’Arc!” said Reiji. “Any damage either of us would take from a card effect is converted into lifepoints instead!”

d’Arc smirked as she raised her sword into the air, absorbing the dual fireball and increasing Reiji’s lifepoints all the way to 7200. 

“Much better,” Reiji smirked, seeing the look of shock on Barrett’s face. “And with that, the battle resumes! Oracle King d’Arc attacks Panther Warrior! And Marksman King Tells attacks Dark Sentinel!”

Barrett was unable to do anything but watch as his own monsters were defeated by Reiji’s, his lifepoints plummeting to 0 and him thrown back and rolling across the floor when Dark Sentinel exploded.

_ He’s...a monster... _ Yuto thought, seeing Reiji’s skills.

_ What a disappointment... _ Serena thought, seeing Barrett’s body laid out in front of her. She then began to walk off.  _ But it’s time for me to head off and find those other Xyz refugees. _

“Not so fast,” Reiji stated.

Serena stopped walking, but the glare in her eye remained when she turned around to look at him. Reiji, in return, just observed her...noticing the differences between her and a girl with pink hair.

“So,” said Reiji. “You’re Serena...yet you look similar to Yuzu Hiragi.”

“‘Yuzu’?” Serena repeated. “Who’s that?”

“She is a girl who looks just like you,” Reiji explained. “But that is not important right now.”

“Then what’s so important that you’re making me waste time when I could be going after my prey?” Serena snarled.

“Because we met each other years ago,” Reiji answered. “Don’t you remember me, Serena? I am Reiji, son of Leo Akaba.”

_ Remember him?  _ Yuto asked, a bit intrigued.  _ These two know each other? _

“It’s been a long time since then,” Reiji continued. “My father said that you had the most potential. Have you grown since we last met? Are you here by my father’s orders? Are you here to scout out my dimension for the impending invasion.”

“Hell no!” Serena spat out. “I came here by my own will. No one tells me what to do or where to go. I do what I want!”

_ Very rebellious.  _ said Yugo.

“And as for that first question, yeah I remember you,” Serena said. “I was sick and tired of being trapped in that castle, so I decided that I was going to leave Academia and head towards the Xyz Dimension by any means necessary.

“What do you mean?” asked Yuto.

Reiji sighed. “Three years ago, I stumbled upon a machine in my father’s laboratory and it hurled me into the Fusion Dimension. Of course, I didn’t know that it was another dimension; all I knew was that I wanted to know why my father vanished.

“I found myself in a strange castle courtyard and that is when I saw Serena being cornered against some old men who summoned Ancient Gear Soldiers. She herself played a unique archetype called ‘Lunalight’.”

“I only got around to summoning one monster,” Serena said. “Then Reiji came with his attack dog as a distraction, helping me escape toward the harbor in the hopes of escaping Academia. I didn’t know back then that he was from another dimension; all I wanted was to get out of there, be part of the squad that will invade the Xyz or Synchro Dimensions. Then, the good old  _ professor  _ showed up.”

“He did,” Reiji said, gritting his teeth. “With his loyal bodyguards strapping a device on my arm to expel me out of the Fusion Dimension and self-destructing so I could never go back. And the only answer I received was that Academia was what he needed for his goals to ‘unify the dimensions’.”

“And the only answer  _ I _ received was that it wasn’t ‘my time’ to fight,” Serena spat out. 

“Ever since then, I have been working on creating a division of duelists to fight back against my father’s twisted desires.” Reiji continued. “And I want you to join us, Serena. You’re ready for the front lines.”

Serena snarled; all this time she was waiting and waiting for that moment. But it was too little, too late.

“As if!” Serena huffed. “I’m only here because I heard rumors that there were fugitives from the Xyz Dimension in this city. But all I’ve found so far are weaklings .”

As she said this, she pulled out a card from her pocket and tossed it to Reiji. Reiji narrowed his eyes when he saw the image of the person carded. 

“This duelist you carded, Hokuto Shijima, is an Xyz Duelist...but he does not hail from the Xyz Dimension,” Reiji stated.

“Oh don’t you start lying to me now!” Serena snarled. “I  _ know _ there’s a fugitive who defeated one of my colleagues in this city so you’re going to tell me now or else!”

(At this point, Yuto wanted to go to Shun right now to protect him from Serena)

“A duelist from the Xyz Dimension?” Reiji feigned. “I don’t think I -- “

Reiji tilted his head to the side to dodge one of Serena’s punches. Serena retracted her hand, but gave a look that said, “Want me to try again?”

“My patience is wearing thin, girl,” Reiji stated even though he never raised his voice. “You may not have been sent by my father, but I will not allow you to stir up trouble. So listen well...if you are not an ally, then I shall declare you my enemy.”

It is at that declaration that Barret finally gathered the strength to lift his head. No one,  _ no one _ would hurt Serena while he was still breathing!

“You won’t get a chance to do that!” he snarled, reaching out towards his duel disk. A red light began to flash as he added, “I just sent them a signal about your current location. Academia soldiers will be here soon to get Serena back! And know this, Reiji...I will return.”

With a press of a button, a blinding light shone around Barrett and he disappeared. Serena stared at the spot where Barrett was and frowned.

“He’s gone back to Academia,” she muttered.

“And my father will be sending troops to make sure you come back safe and sound after your little adventure here,” Reiji mused.

“But until then, I’m going to use all the time I have to find that fugitive, card him, and then show him off so that the Professor has  _ no fucking choice _ than to acknowledge my skills,” said Serena.

And at this, Yuto decided to put his two cents in.

“What happens after  _ that _ ? You’re willing to help unleash genocide on an innocent dimension?” he questioned just as Serena began to walk away.

Serena paused. “Genocide?” she repeated. “All I want to do is bring glory to Academia! To the professor!”

“He wants you to hurt innocent people for a selfish cause,” Reiji stated, glaring.

“What? No...that-that can’t be true!” Serena shook her head in disbelief. “The soldiers of Academia were meant to bring glory, to fight for a united utopia, not...not harm innocent people! How could...how could they?” 

She clenched her hands. “I...I..,” she shook her head. War raged within herself at their words. “It can’t...it just can’t be true!”

“It is true!” Yuto said and Selena took a good look at him. “I was there. Our beloved Heartland invaded and destroyed...nothing left but rock and rubble, most of the inhabitants were carded. Man woman or child, no one was safe, no one was  _ spared _ . We lived in fear, separated from our families. We lived day in and day out fearing which would get us first; Obelisk Force or the lack of food and water.  _ That’s  _ what you call ‘bringing glory’ to the Academia? Being heartless bastards who would kill and destroy all who come in your way?!” 

Serena’s eyes widened. This sounded nothing like the tales she heard of Academia students who entered the Xyz Dimension. This...this sounded like a  _ massacre _ .

She dropped to her knees, feeling the room spin. No...this can’t be what she’s been striving for. She...couldn’t...she wasn’t...

Reiji sighed at seeing Serena looking like she was going to faint. “Come with us. We’ll explain more on the way.”

***************

Shun smiled as he was announced the winner of his duel.

As the audience cheered him on, all he could feel was pride swelling in his chest. He sent these emotions to Yuto, hoping to feel Yuto’s own happiness on his precious treasure being victorious on this day. Not even the glares from three duelists in knight’s armor could dampen his spirits.

_ “I hope I made you proud, Yuto…”  _ Shun thought to himself. 

He was still beaming with pride, a skip in his step -- something that scared the hell out of Masumi in the audience, momentarily distracting her from why Hokuto hadn’t appeared all day-- as he made his way back to the Security Room. When the door opened by Nakajima -- who raised an eyebrow at the smile on Shun’s face but said nothing -- he wasted no time being by Yuto’s side.

“I won,” Shun stated, eyes shining in adoration to Yuto. “My victory was dedicated to you, my love.”

“I know, I saw it,” Yuto beamed at Shun happily, and motioned for him to come closer. The moment Shun was in reach Yuto wrapped his arm around Shun's waist, pulling him close before gently running his hand up Shun's back, resting it over his mark. 

Shun shuddered, remembering each and every stroke Yuto gave to draw this mark. Oh how he wished his prince was touching his bare back, his skin, to truly  _ feel  _ Yuto's touch, and not through a wall of clothes. Every single stroke made him feel like he wanted to sink deeper and deeper into his prince’s embrace and never leave it.

_ "You've done beautifully my lovely treasure."  _ Shun shuddered at the praise in his mind.  _ "Come now,"  _ Yuto said, his voice like a siren's song in Shun's mind. _ "Let me reward you."  _ Yuto's index finger guided Shun's chin, bringing the older boy closer for Yuto to reward and kiss. 

Shun moaned in ecstasy. The kiss was like fire and he wanted to  _ burn _ and be consumed by the flames of Yuto’s love for him. He never ever wanted this feeling to end.

“What the FUCK?!”

The female voice caused Shun to turn around, ready to fight off whoever would interrupt this precious moment between him and his prince. 

“Academia!” Shun snarled, preparing his Duel Disk to defend Yuto from the red-coat wearing girl with his sister’s face. “What are  _ you  _ doing here?!”

“What were  _ you  _ doing kissing a guy?!” Serena shouted, cheeks red. Reiji raised an eyebrow in confusion while Yugo looked on the verge of punching a monitor. “Boys...that’s not possible... Boys don’t kiss other boys!”

“Tell me, Shun,” Reiji began. “Were you...always this affectionate to Yuto?”

“Until just recently I found myself understanding my love for my close...friend,” Shun stated. “I lost my sister already; I can’t lose anyone else. Yuto was nearly lost to me, so I can’t help but feel worried about losing him.”

"Yeah, hi excuse me…  _ why are they kissing?! _ Is that allowed?!" Serena asked genuinely fucking confused. “Boys don’t kiss in public...boys don’t…they don’t...”

Yuto gently tapped Shun's face twice, bringing his attention back to the lavender haired boy. "It's alright Shun, she's on our side now," he said before running his hand in Shun's hair, and the older boy melted in Yuto's arms as the gray stormy eyes looked and focused only on Shun. 

"I have several questions!" Serena yelled in Reiji's face, her own red. 

"Yes so do I, but I imagine yours are different from mine," answered the silver haired boy, crossing his arms as light fell on his lenses again. He considered himself asexual -- his work running a company and stopping his father’s atrocities meant that there was no time for a relationship. He then turned to Yugo who at this point was facepalming. “Your thoughts on this?”

“I have none,” Yugo stated, gritting his teeth, resisting the urge to bite someone. He concentrated more on giving mental signals to his brother who was lovingly gazing into Shun’s eyes.

_ "Yuto for fuck's sake reign your little pet in. I’d honestly take the glares back if you stopped acting like a love sick puppy in public, because  _ someone _ , namely. Reiji ‘smug asshole who is the same as his bastard of a father’ Akaba is  _ GONNA NOTICE SOMETHING IS OFF!" 

_ "But it's fun,"  _ Yuto sounded like he was pouting, Yugo did  _ not _ have sympathy for his brother, considering said brother had just shoved his tongue down Shun's throat at the moment. 

_ "YUTO!!!!!!"  _ Yugo snarled.

_ "Okay fine fine fine fine."  _

_ "Father, you have made a  _ great  _ mistake."  _ Yugo thought to himself and Zarc. 

** _Oh I don't know, dear. It _ ** **is ** ** _quite fun to watch. _ ** Zarc laughed, and a shiver went down Yugo's back.  ** _I can imagine you’d do this to Rin if she was here right -- _ **

_ “Don’t mention her name like that.”  _ Yugo hissed.

** _Like what, dear? _ ** Yugo felt Zarc's claws run through his hair, and the boy shivered again.  ** _Don't be jealous of your brother, Yugo. You'll get your Rin back soon. _ **

_ "...Soon is too long." _

After Yuto released Shun from their kiss, Reiji spoke up.

“Shun Kurosaki,” he said, motioning to Serena. “This is Serena of the Fusion Dimension. She is on our side now.” 

The stoic, almost raging, mindset of Shun’s was back. "Really? And what changed her mind?" he asked, all the love sickness drained out of him. 

"Well,  _ that's  _ whiplash inducing," said Serena at Shun's attitude. 

_ "Thank you,"  _ thought Yugo to his brother, rubbing his temples.

“I told her about what Academia did to our home,” Yuto explained. “Apparently, the good old professor didn’t have the  _ heart _ to tell his precious baby girl about what this invasion to the Xyz Dimension meant.”

"Baby girl?" Reiji raised an eyebrow at the moniker. 

"The professor said that we would build a Utopia, that this war was necessary and would bring us all glory to fight it. Attacking innocent people who did nothing wrong… I'd… I never thought such a thing would happen." Serena stated, still shocked from learning this horrible truth. Now she felt horrible at what she did to that Xyz Duelist hours ago.

"Can we really trust her?" Shun asked all three.

"She does seem genuine with her words. But I suppose we can give her the benefit of the doubt," Reiji stated. 

"I'm keeping an eye on her, though,” said Shun. “After all, Academia's students are nothing but monsters." 

Serena glared back, standing her ground. "Then I guess I'll just have to prove it to you," she said with determination. 

Zarc smirked. En-Moon, Serena, sounds quite interesting indeed. 

"By the way, Serena," Yugo said. "Do you know someone called Yuri from your dimension?"

"Yuri?" Serena repeated, blinking a few times. "Yeah, I've heard of him."

"Heard of? You've never met him?" asked Yuto.

Serena shook her head. "The professor made my contacts with most of the students limited. Even then, most of the people I dueled was after I ran out of my room. What I know about Yuri is from rumors and gossip I picked up along the way."

"And what sort of gossip is that?" Reiji asked. 

Serena folded her arms over her chest. "I heard he's a strong duelist.  _ Too  _ strong. No one in Academia has ever defeated him. Not the teachers, not the students, not even the top members of Obelisk Force have scored a victory on him. He’s decimated every last person who challenged him with sadistic glee; some of his opponents would even go as far as to call him ‘demonic’." 

Reiji had an unreadable expression on his face. Shun was quiet and Yuto and Yugo couldn’t help but smirk inwardly.

_ "Sounds like our Yuri alright,"  _ thought Yuto. " _ Remind me to kill the bastards that would call our brother a demon." _

_ "Heh, happily." _ Yugo replied.

"I've always wanted to duel him though," said Serena, turning everyone's attention to her. She now had an excited smirk on her face. "He sounds interesting and strong, not like all the other weaklings in Academia. I bet it would be one hell of a duel," she said closing her hands into fists, the smirk still there as she relished the battle the two could have. 

_ "... I like her!" _ Yugo said with a grin.

Yuto laughed in delight.  _ "Agreed. En-Moon is quite interesting! Isn't that right, father?"  _

** _Oh, most certainty,_ ** they could hear the smirk in their father's voice.  ** _Akaba is quite the fool, keeping such a gem locked away when she could be more useful in the frontlines. His stupidity will be his downfall._ **

“There’s still the warning Barrett gave,” said Reiji. “Obelisk Force will arrive to bring Serena back to Academia. And they’ll also be going after Yuzu Hiragi too.”

"Then we prepare for battle," said Yuto. 

“I already prepared duelists from the LDS Youth Division that will keep Obelisk Force distracted,” Reiji continued. “I’m also considering to have the final round as a Battle Royale around the city to disguise the invasion.”

"Shun and I can back Yuya up,” said Yuto. “Serena and Yugo, maybe stick to Yuzu, she's good, but against the Obelisk Force she would need back up." 

Yugo looked alarm, remembering what Zarc said about Yuzu. "But what abou… "

** _As long as it's one of you at a time, you can be close to Yuzu Hiragi. Simply be careful and crush those who presume to stand in our way. _ ** said Zarc.

_ "Of course Father."  _ Yuto and Yugo exchanged a look smirking at one another. "Right, looks like we have a plan," said Yugo.

"Wait, hold on," said Serena. "Who is this Yuzu, and why does the Professor want her?" 

" _ Telling her the truth might be a good idea… you know, when Reiji isn’t around." _ Yugo suggested looking at Serena's determined face. She looked so much like Rin and yet the differences were clear. Not just in her hair and eyes. It was her attitude, a determination to fight for glory and honor, unlike Rin, playful yet serious, with the spark to look enemies bigger than her in the eye and yell "fight me, assholes!” And both of them stood tall and proud to be who they are…

And yet Akaba wants to destroy these girls, remove everything that makes them unique and who they are, as if they're nothing but ingredients, just to bring back one girl. One girl was worth the destruction of these dimensions, of livelihoods, and the corruption of the minds of innocent children and converting them into killing machines?! 

Selfish, cruel, apathetic, unforgiving, relentless...Akaba represented the worst of the  _ worst _ of human nature.

“We’ll explain later,” said Reiji. “For now, Serena you shall be staying in the LDS Tower.”

"When is this Battle Royale?" Serena asked. 

“Tomorrow,” Reiji answered. “So we should all get a good night’s rest.”

“Understood,” said Shun. “Just one more question."

“What now?” Serena groaned.

Shun looked at Serena, trying his hardest to not see his little sister in her place. “Do you know anything about my sister, Ruri?”

"Ruri? Should I?" Serena asked, confused. 

"She's a girl that looks just like you, and your so called Professor sent Yuri to kidnap her," Shun explained. 

“And Rin too!” Yugo added.

"He did?! But...but why?" This wasn’t good if there were girls that looked similar to her.

"You haven't even met them? Or even heard about them?" Shun asked, about to panic.

Serena shook her head. "Not a word. The Professor keeps his plans for himself. I'm not even considered a soldier, to him. And like I said, I wasn't told a thing about the war except it would bring a utopia to all the dimensions."

At the three's crushed expressions, Selena couldn't help but feel bad that she couldn't do more. "I'm sorry."

“It’s not your fault,” said Shun. “You’re in the dark about all of this.”

“I was,” said Serena. “And despite how things turned out in regards to me hunting you and Yuto down...I'm quite glad I came. Now I know what I’m fighting for." 

“And with that said,” Reiji nodded his head. “Any other questions?”

“Yeah, just one,” said Serena. She then looked at Yuto and Shun, noticing how the two were holding hands, Yuto rubbing his thumb over Shun’s own. “Just...what was with you two earlier on?”

Yuto and Shun blinked. "Huh?" 

"Well the the touching and the kissing...what was that?!"

“That type of behavior isn’t common in the Fusion Dimension?” asked Yuto.

“No,” Serena stated. “Any type of bonding is just how students become a well-oiled machine like the Ancient Gear monsters Obelisk Force wield to crush the opposition.”

_ “In other words, they’re just mindless robots following my father’s ideals without a second thought.” _ Reiji mused.

"So? What was it?" Serena asked, crossing her arms. Shun and Yuto just exchanged looks. 

"Umm…" Yuto stammered.

“It’s...complicated,” Shun began, remembering that he needed to know what the brand Yuto put on his back. A small shiver fell down his spine, recalling his Yuto marking him like that. 

“It’s best that we explain this behind closed doors,” Yugo snarled, glaring daggers at his brother. He could tell that Yuto wanted to go to Shun’s room quick for some more “time” together.

Yuto raised an eyebrow at Yugo's tone.

"I uh… ok," said Serena, unsure. She was already confused on the idea of guys kissing each other

“And with that, I think we should get going,” said Yugo, grabbing Yuto’s arm and practically having to drag him away from Shun. “Let’s go.”

"Wa- hey Yugo! What the hell?" Yuto exclaimed.

_ “Yuto!”  _ Shun shouted.

_ “Get some rest,”  _ said Yuto.  _ “We’ll see each other in the morning. Sleep sweet dreams of you in my arms, my treasure.” _

But he said out loud, "Yugo, what's the matter wit-"

Yuto was cut off when Yugo's eyes, that have turned into slits looked back at him with fury, he could even hear a growl coming from the older boy. 

"... Yugo.. "

“We’re going.” Yugo stated firmly. Yuto couldn't fight him on that. 

***************

It wasn’t difficult to find a place for Yuya to shift into Zarc’s form (going into a public restroom near the Leo Corp. building). But for Yoko, it was still strange to see this man, someone with her son’s face yet more mature in appearance, and exuded power even in his normal clothes. 

“So,” said Zarc, raising an eyebrow at the former gang leader. “Are you ready for our date?”

“...”

“Oh, don’t give me that look” Zarc chuckled. “I mean, as long as your husband is out and about in the other dimensions, I’m the closest thing you’ll get.”

Yoko chuckled. “Don’t push your luck, your highness,” she said tapping Zarc’s cheek twice. “You might be handsome, but you  _ certainly  _ aren’t my type,” she added, before motioning ahead. “Shall we?”

“Hmm, she’s certainly a keeper,” whispered Zarc to himself as she walked ahead of him, and he followed her to the LDS tower. He could sense Yuya’s worry from within his mind about how long he could hold the illusion together but Zarc just sends waves of reassurance to calm Yuya’s nerves.

Yuya just Xyz Summoned for the first time; how hard could maintaining a glamour spell be? 

They entered the tower and headed to the front desk where a young woman in a suit looked up from the monitor to see Yoko learn on the desk. “We’d like to have a word with Himika Akaba,” Yoko stated.

The receptionist looked at the pair that walked in, both holding a certain air of entitlement. She tilted her head at the silver haired man for a moment. looking him up and down with a small smirk, before returning to Yoko. “Do you two have an appointment?” she asked in a bored tone. 

“Don’t play that game with me, girl,” Yoko snarled.

“I can schedule an appointment with her for next Wednesday,” The receptionist replied, not at all afraid at this housewife. Zarc, on the other hand... 

Yoko was about to start scolding the young woman, before Zarc intervened, taking the receptionist’s hand in his, and looking at the woman straight in the eye, his own golden ones glowing. 

“I’m sure we can be an exception to the rule, my dear, wouldn’t you agree?” he whispered huskily, drawing circles on the back of the young woman’s hand.

“I...um..I’m sure I can find you a closer time slot…” she swallowed.

“Oh no, that just wouldn’t do,” Zarc tisked gently. “We simply must meet her  _ now  _ you see,” he said voice still husky, a smirk on his face. 

The receptionist shuddered, her glasses falling down her nose a few inches so that Zarc can see the distant gaze in her eyes. “I..well...yes, certainly, please follow me.” 

_ So  _ Yoko thought as she and Zarc followed the entranced woman towards the elevator, back to horror movies 101. Category: Monsters. Special abilities: glamours, seduction, hypnosis, all that good stuff. All to take control and simply play with the helpless maiden who is now in the monster’s thrall. Now you have your typical vampires, sirens, shapeshifters, and more. And she had to admit that Zarc filed the “Vampire” quota to a T -- a dark, handsome stranger with power and charm, ready to allure, corrupt and take the sweet maiden for his own before sucking the life out of her.

And Zarc, just in front of her eyes, charmed or even hypnotize a woman to let them in with no fuss in record time. And you should  _ never  _ trust men like that. Sure they might have tragic backstories, or you may sympathize with them, find them charming, and alluring, and again Zarc was all of that and more. But ultimately they are a selfish breed, never to be trusted. And with that, Yoko wanted to know a way to  _ resist  _ Zarc when the time comes and he unleashes his charms and tricks upon her. 

Yoko tried to distract herself by watching the lights in the elevator slowly indicate each floor that she, Zarc and the dazed receptionist passed until, with a slight  _ *ding!* _ , the elevator opened its doors at the top floor.

“This way, “ said the receptionist in a soft monotone, motioning Yoko and Zarc down the hall. Zarc smirked, licking his fangs all while Yoko took a deep breath, mind focusing on the right words to tell Himika about her and her son’s “actions” during the past few weeks.

She finally led them to the right door and knocked on it twice.. “Himika-san,” the receptionist stated. “Someone is here to see you.” 

“Who is it?” Himika’s voice questioned on the other side.

"You may go," Zarc dismissed the receptionist before opening the door himself and he and Yoko entered the office. "Oh, us? Just some concerned parents you see," he grinned showing his pure white fangs. As he stared at the woman, he did his best not to tear out her throat. After all, it would not be good to accuse his son or his mother for committing murder.

When both women locked eyes with one another, it took all of Yoko Sakaki’s willpower to not tear into that heart-shaped hairstyle Himika sported.

“Yoko Sakaki,” Himika began, noticing Yoko’s green top and denim jeans. “How has the life of a housewife been treating you?”

“Pretty well,” Yoko stated. “What about you, though? Have you been getting any action in bed lately? I can see how the stress on not having any sex in the past  _ three years _ is causing wrinkles to form on your face, Queen of Hearts.”

Zarc choked on air and leaned against the door while Yuya’s jaw nearly dropped. This…. Oh this is going to be a fucking massacre and he didn't even need to left a finger… damn it where's a good bag of popcorn when you need it? 

Himika resisted the urge to snap back. Instead, she cleared her throat and looked at any weak points she could exploit. “Well, that’s a pot calling the kettle black right there. What about your  _ coward _ of a husband, Yoko? I don’t see him returning to your arms with fireworks, music and a bouquet of flowers anytime soon.”

“He’ll come back when he comes back,” Yoko stated, not wanting to tell her about Yusho’s  _ adventures  _ in another dimension. “But right now, let’s not talk about our husbands...let’s talk about our  _ sons _ .”

Himika noticed Zarc there as well and smirked. " _ Our _ sons? Very well then. But I must say, that young man over there who looks like the spitting image of your child should be  _ quite  _ the story.” She eyed Zarc with his silver hair with green highlights and dark eyes. “Quite strange...I’ve never seen him before. Who is he? Your secret love child?" 

_ "... Father, I don't wanna be a part of this conversation anymore,"  _ Yuya whined, pretty traumatized by Himika’s implications at the moment. 

“I could ask the same thing about that child you picked up from the streets,” Yoko retorted. “What was his name again...Reira?”

Himika clicked her teeth. “Leave Reira out of this.”

“I wish I could have said the same thing about leaving Yuya out of whatever revenge scheme you cooked up in regards to the warehouse attack with Shingo Sawatari,” Yoko snapped. 

"There were multiple eyewitnesses that confirmed it being  _ your son  _ who did the assault."

“Did the person who attacked Shingo have the same red and green hair and red eyes as my Yuya?” Yoko stated. “What type of deck did they use? Why exactly did ‘Yuya’ decide to attack Shingo when Yuya already kicked that haughty mayor’s son ass already? Yuya had nothing to prove by beating that dead horse again.”

“...Are you saying that there are other boys with the same face as your son, Yoko?" Himika inquired with a raised eyebrow. “I mean, I know you’re pining for Yusho but this is quite a hare-brained idea that a lonely housewife can cook up if she isn’t lusting over Michio Mokota’s fine cooking.”

Oh, that woman did not just…

"Just answer my questions, Himika,” said Yoko. “Did these eyewitnesses described in detail just who attacked Shingo or not?”

"They all stated that it was your son, Yoko. I simply had to do something in retaliation, after all Shingo Sawatari is a respected member of the Leo Duel School and the son of Maiami City’s mayor. it would just not do that the culprit got away with such a travesty.”

_ Stubborn ass!  _ Yoko snarled. There was no way to make Himika change her mind about what Shingo and his stooges said.

“But did it  _ really _ need to escalate to you buying out my husband’s Duel School?” she asked.

“Face the facts, Yoko,” Himika stated plainly. “That little dream school of Yusho’s is not pulling enough students to pay for the fees. I mean, there  _ was _ that influx of students who wanted to see your sons new monsters but out of all of the eager-eyed students who came to see him shine only  _ one _ child decided to enroll. I know you’re quite an optimist, but optimism does not pay the bills.”

"Was that supposed to be you showing  _ kindness  _ or something, Queen of Hearts?” Yoko asked. “Because you need to work on your act just like you need to work on your flimsy excuse in  _ pinning the blame of Shingo’s assault _ on my Yuya!”

“Is that all you’re here to talk about or should I call security?” Himika barked. “This conversation is leading us nowhere. Unless of course...your  _ love child _ has anything to say?”

At this, Zarc smirked. Oh was this woman going to regret asking him to step in. Yoko knew this too. Threatening a person possessed by a demon was going to end with them traumatized or injured at best and dead at worst.

"Well to start with,” Zarc hissed, approaching the two mothers. “If I had the time, I would be flaying you alive at the moment for causing any distress for my Yuya alone.” Zarc chuckled as Yoko did her best to not smirk. "Well, flaying you alive is a  _ start  _ at best." Zarc’s eyes shined with malice and concealed rage, despite his calm and deceptively pleasant tone. 

Himika stayed calm. Death threats were common and this was no different. 

“Oh? That not good enough for you?” Zarc asked with a tilt of his head. ”Very well. How about this?”

Like a whip too quick for the two women to have seen, a black and green tail lashed out and wrapped itself around Himiki's neck. Yoko’s eyes widened; she wasn’t expecting that!

"Ever heard of the little torture dance?” Zarc suggested, seeing the look on Himika’s face when she saw that scaly appendage close to squeezing her neck. “Oh, I'm quite familiar with that technique. For you see, I've had  _ years  _ upon  _ years  _ to perfect my art.” And it was here that Yoko could tell that the demon was going to start his monologue on how he was going to inflict pain on his victim. “I can make you writhe and scream and beg. I'd break you within minutes. And I wouldn't even have lifted a finger. A weak willed woman like you? No, you're just no  _ fun _ ." 

The tail tightened its grip around Himika's neck and now the businesswoman began to look in alarm. "But you see  _ Akaba _ ,” Zarc stated, narrowing his eyes as his nails grew into sharp talons. “For my Yuya, it is my duty to protect him, punish those who would hurt him. And  _ clearly _ , it is quite obvious that you intend to hurt him with this stubborn idea that  _ he _ would hurt such a coward like this Shingo Sawatari.” The tail lifted Himika off the ground and she started whimpering in terror, eyes darting toward Yoko in attempt to ask for some help against this monster.

But Yoko wasn’t going to help Himika yet. While it goes against Horror films that she should be  _ stopping _ the monster from torturing an innocent human, Himika was not innocent. Not by a longshot. But just one look at Zarc's face was enough to send shivers down her spine. He looked gleeful, grinning with cruel joy and, to be honest, she did believe that he could break this haughty woman within minutes! 

Supreme Dragon King Zarc…How long had this man been alive? What horrid things did he learn to do? 

More importantly, what type of things did he teach  _ Yuya _ ? Was Yuya going to become just like Zarc? Some monstrous demon who showed delight in hurting people?

No, that is not what she wanted. She wanted her sweet innocent boy who made people smile...She wanted the boy who sat attentively at Yusho’s teachings and wanting to use dueling as a way to bring people together. 

Zarc answered Yoko’s questions at that moment. "But what I do is  _ certainly  _ not for children's eyes, and I would never subject my baby boy to see such things.” He then had his tail bring Himika close as he ran a claw down her cheek. “So let’s get a few things straight… You are  _ never  _ to come after this family again, any thing dear to us that you presume to touch with these filthy hands of yours you will be punished for. And believe me, once I'm done with you… you would be begging for a swift and painful  _ death _ , _ " _ he hissed.

Himika whimpered as she reached out towards Yoko. “Yoko...please...I beg you…”

“You’re begging?” Yoko questioned. “Oh,  _ now _ you start begging?! Didn’t my son and his friends beg you to  _ not _ buy out the You Show Duel School? Or to listen as to how he said that he  _ didn’t _ attack Shingo?”

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry please! Please help me! Someone! Anyone!" Tears began to fall down Himika's face. 

"Then answer my question: what did the person who attacked Shingo  _ look like _ ? Describe his eyes, his hair color, the  _ deck that they used _ !” Yoko snarled. She wanted to hear it from the woman herself that Yuya  _ did not attack Shingo _ that day. “And while you’re at it, why were you  _ really _ trying to buy out the You Show Duel School?! What are you and your son plotting, Himika Akaba?”

Meanwhile, Yuya just watched in horror at how violent his father and mother had become. Yes, he did want the Akabas to pay. Yes, he wanted clarification as to what they were planning. Did he want Himika Akaba dead? Absolutely not.

“I’m only repeating what Shingo and his friends told me,” Himika gasped as Zarc threatened to tighten his grip. “He said that the person...looked like Yuya. You have to...go to him for more details.”

“We will,” said Yoko. “Now, if you don’t want either of us screaming ‘Off with your head!’ in the next five seconds, answer my second question. And you better make it quick; I don’t know how much longer I can restrain my  _ love child _ .”

Zarc was honestly torn between laughing his head off or biting someone's head off. He definitely liked Yoko’s spirit!

“Reiji...he’s trying to help build an army…” Himika stated hastily. “To fight off my husband’s army in the Fusion Dimension! We...we wanted to buy the school so that we could...enhance the curriculum and train your son and that of Yuzu Hiragi to fight off invaders who would want to destroy our dimension…”

“Is that what you’ve been doing to  _ other  _ Duel Schools across the globe?” Yoko questioned, recalling reading the multiple mergers and acquisitions in the newspaper.

“Y...Yes!”

“And it never occurred to you that you should  _ explain _ that little detail before signing the contracts?” Yoko stated. It was one thing to buy the school under a flimsy excuse, but the fact that the Akabas have bought out other schools  _ without fully explaining what was going on _ ?

For all of Reiji’s accolades on being a CEO at the tender age of 16 and how he’s mastered multiple summoning methods, he was  _ incredibly _ short-sighted.

Zarc rolled his eyes at their stupidity. Short sightedness seemed to be the biggest inherited trait of the Akabas. 

“It...never occured to Reiji to tell you or your son about the deal he made with Yusho either!” Himika blurted out.

And at that little nugget of information, Zarc’s tail dropped Himika onto the floor.

“...What did you say?” Yoko stated, eyes wide. 

_ "W-what deal?"  _ Yuya sounded distressed again. Reiji had something to do with his father being in the Xyz Dimension?!

Yoko, on the other hand, was silent...and then she was absolutely pissed. 

Oh, this...this has just changed  _ everything _ .

This was set during the climax of the film, when the foolish human antagonist blurted out such vital information that changed the course of the monster’s wrath. The monster, who was fixated on attacking an innocent victim, now knew the truth and who to inflict its anger out on.

Yoko curled her hands into fists, marched towards Himika and then grabbed onto the front of Himika’s magenta suit. “You know what happened to my husband...start talking now before I beat you up black and blue!”

"A-all I know is that Reiji told Yusho about Academia and what my husband was planning planning.Reiji wanted Yusho to stay here and train a squad of soldiers called the Lancers. But Yusho wanted to go talk to Leo personally,” Himika stated. 

“Yusho went  _ alone _ ? You didn’t send backup on him? He didn’t even tell me or Yuya where he was going?!” Yoko was hysterical at this point. Any good person who loved a horror film knows that confronting the monster without help was considered  _ suicidal _ !

“Yoko! Calm down," Zarc said more gently, before pulling Himika away from the irate housewife, his tail swishing around behind him, signs of anger still present. “I know you’re concerned about Yusho, but this is not the right time to panic. I mean, it’s not  _ her _ fault that she didn’t decide to break the news all these years ago. It’s not her or her  _ son’s _ fault that they didn’t plan ahead sooner. And it’s  _ certainly  _ not their fault for causing your son’s agony because they thought something like that was so smart it wasn’t worth telling you this information sooner! Isn't that right?” 

Yuya was silent throughout the entire thing. This entire time Reiji knew about Yusho’s disappearance...no wonder he told Hokuto and Yaiba not to insult Yusho…

Yuya was getting too distressed, his glamour almost fading. Zarc tisked.  ** _Hold it a little longer shooting Star, for me, just a bit longer. _ **

“But why Yusho?” asked Yoko. “Why did Reiji personally ask him to join you on this entire scheme?!”

“Your husband...was the best duelist in this dimension and helped my husband fine tune the Real Solid Vision used for Action Duels,” Himika explained. “If there was anyone who could change Leo’s mind...it was Yusho.”

Zarc had to laugh at that. "Are you  _ serious _ ?! Oh, because it's so  _ easy _ to talk a megalomaniac out of their desires to  _ take over the world,  _ right? Because by that point, said manic hadn't set his mind to do it, hadn't set his sights on what he wants, and oh just  _ talking  _ would fix everything right up, wouldn’t it? What the hell is wrong with all of you?! Forget short sightedness; you Akabas are just plain  _ idiots _ !”

Himika whimpered as Zarc continued to cackle, trying to find her cellphone to call for help. Just as she was about to do so, Zarc suddenly stopped laughing and had a murderous look on his face, an angel of death that has arrived to pass judgment unto those before him.

“Thank you for revealing all of this to us,” he said with a serene smile on his face. “This has been a wonderful day for Yoko and I. Now, we have to get going so we can spend some time preparing for the finals.

"However, I can't let you remember  _ any  _ of what happened today.” Yoko’s eyes widened, but Zarc raised a hand before she could say anything. “But don't worry Yoko-san, I'll make sure the regret and fear stay in that haughty mind of hers, to remind her that she will  _ never _ mess with us again." 

Zarc stomped closer to Himika and a sharp black taloned touched her forehead. Himika's eyes widened, her mouth open as if she was about to scream, but she choked in the last second. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and it was a second or two later before Zarc let's go uncaringly, and Himiki crumbled to the floor. 

_ “Father…”  _ Yuya sobbed.  _ “Reiji...caused Yusho...to vanish…and never told us!” _

Yoko showed no pity to the unconscious businesswoman; Zarc was being  _ merciful _ on her after all.

She didn’t know who to feel angry at: Yusho for leaping off to stop Professor Akaba, Himika for using Yuto’s attack on Shingo to buy You Show and train her son and Yuzu into soldiers, Reiji for keeping this all secret or Professor Akaba for unleashing  _ this entire mess in the first place _ .

Zarc's image became static and it wasn't long before Yuya's body stood there. But… the black and green tail was still there, a hand on Yuya's heart. He turned back to her and it was Zarc's eyes in place of Yuya's ruby red ones. "Let's go then, no one would remember that we were here," he said calmly his tail retracting. 

"Is Yuya alright?" Yoko asked, concerned. She knew that this was a lot to take in. It was amazing how  _ she _ hadn’t collapsed yet.

"... He is thinking." Zarc stated. “He isn’t taking the news well.”

Yoko sighed. "Let's go home then. You know, you make a good interrogation partner, your Highness," she said with a chuckle.

“Well, I have to admit that you did a good job riling her up,” Zarc said. “It reminds me a lot of Yuri. He loved pushing other people’s buttons.”

“Really? I’d love to meet him one day.” 

"If all goes well, you two will meet soon enough. I miss my thorned Rose so… " Zarc then tilted his head to the side. “Oh? It looks like Yuto and Yugo have completed their mission and are heading home. It seems like we will have a lot to talk about at the dinner tonight.”

Yoko nodded and the two headed home, Zarc still not giving control back to Yuya as his son was a one word away from breaking down. 

***************

It had been…another long day to say the least. Starting from Yoko learning the truth about Zarc, Yuya's inner Darkness being unleashed, Yuto claiming Shun as his precious treasure and encounting En-Moon along with learning how she first encountered Reiji, pulling her into their side against Akaba and the Fusion Dimension by simply telling her the truth (even though they will have to face off Barrett’s warning on Akaba summoning Obelisk Force to bring her back in 24 hours) Yoko and Zarc learning what happened to Yusho and giving Himika a warning that she will never forget … imagine that. 

When everyone arrived home, Yoko wasted no time gathering everyone in the dining room. At this point, Zarc relinquished control to Yuya...and Yuya was sobbing his eyes out as everything he had learned from Himika came crashing down upon him.

“Yuya…” Yuto whispered. “What happened?”

“It’s about Yusho,” Yoko stated. “Three years ago, Reiji asked my husband to train duelists to fight off against Professor Akaba from invading the dimensions. Instead, my  _ loving husband _ decided to go directly to the Fusion Dimension to talk things over. But, given how Yusho landed in Heartland, he somehow got stuck in the Xyz Dimension before…”

_ “Those Akabas are the reason that we  _ all _ are suffering…”  _ Yugo thought.

Yuya was still crying, even when Zarc embraced him.  ** _I’m so sorry that you had to learn this. Even I had no idea that this would happen._ **

“...” Yuya stopped crying and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Yuya?” asked Yoko, sensing a dark aura surrounding her son. “Sweetie?”

“...They have to pay,” Yuya snarled, balling his hands into fists. “Reiji, his mother, his father...they all have to PAY!”

He slammed his hands on the table as he stood up. The shadows caused his hair to stand on end, his eyes glowing with anger and hatred. Tears fell down Yuya’s cheeks at this. He has never felt so enraged, terrified, hurt,  _ shattered _ ...all of it made him want to scream!

“Y-Yuya,” Yugo whispered seeing the anger and Darkness as it surrounded his younger brother. 

Yoko came closer, and hugged Yuya to her, which made the young boy freeze. “They will, for everything they did, for everything they took, for every mistake they made.”

“Mom…” Yuya whispered, the dark aura fading. 

Yoko just cupped his face and looked at his shining eyes lovingly. “I know sweetheart,” she kissed his forehead and wiped his tears. “And as much as I’d like to go to all three of them now and make them pay, as a matter of fact I know Zarc can do it no problem, we can’t charge half cocked without a plan. A plan to attack, a plan to retreat, or even a plan to hide what we’re doing. You need to calm down, and bide our time until the time is right and perfect to get what we want.”

“What about Reira?” asked Yuya. A part of him felt sad about the poor kid. It seemed like Reira was just a victim to the Akabas’ schemes, forged to tag along without giving his own opinion. The way he looked so sad in his duel against Ayu was heartbreaking. What could have happened that caused Reira to become such an empty shell?

“Hmm…” Yoko replied. “Well, perhaps I can adopt them after this entire mess is over. After all, if Zarc is going to be unleashing retribution on the Akabastards who harmed all of you, we just can’t leave poor Riera alone like that. We’ll find a way to keep him safe from our combined wrath,” she ruffles Yuya’s hair with a soft smile. 

_ “She’s amazing…”  _ Yuto thought.

_ “I wish she was my mom growing up…”  _ Yugo added.

** _She is yours now_ ** , said Zarc before kissing Yugo and Yuto’s foreheads.  ** _And she shall never leave you._ **

“But until then, we need to prepare ourselves for what will come,” said Yoko. “Now, fill me in on all the details.”

“How do you know so much about planning?” asked Yuto, bewildered.

“Like I said, I lead a bike gang in my youth. And in that life, you always have to be planning because you never know when a riot is gonna break out. Now then...” Yoko pulled out her phone and opened the notepad app. “Details please.”

For the next hour or so, Yuto and Yugo explained everything they could (well, Yuto did have to omit how he ‘marked’ Shun and all) in regards to Reiji’s plan with the Lancers, the Battle Royale and Serena. Yoko asked one or two questions but mostly just typed everything she could on her phone.

“Right,” she said. “So, it looks like I’m going to be on patrol too. There’s no way I’m going to be on the sidelines for this.”

“What!?” asked Yuya.

“I know this city like the back of my hand,” Yoko stated. “And I know how to get myself out of a fix. Just focus on what you need to do.”

“M-mom, you can’t! It’s too dangerous!” 

“Says the fourteen year old child possessed by a  _ dragon king _ ,” she said crossing her arms.

Yuya opened and closed his lips like a fish out of water. Zarc was just laughing in his mind. He liked Yoko more and more. 

“Thought so,” she kissed Yuya’s forehead. “I’m gonna be just fine Yuya, you need to focus on your duels tomorrow. Break a few legs for me, okay?” She winked. 

With that in mind, Yoko then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, a tablet propped up by a bowl to give her the latest news about the tournament. She was screaming at how Michio Mokota was going to be in the finals all while happily preparing some of the recipes he emailed her just for the occasion. Meanwhile Yuya, Yuto and Yugo were in the living room watching the news as to who else would be in the Top 16.

Yuto and Yugo weren’t too surprised to see Yuya, Yuzu or Shun in the finals. But one of the participants caused Yuto to freeze.

It was the one the news anchor named Dennis Macfield.

“What? Wh...what the hell is Dennis doing here?!” Yuto asked surprised, eyes widening. 

“You know him Yuto?” Yuya asked. 

Yuto nodded his head. “Yeah, he was one of my classmates at my Duel School. He had an air of showmanship just like Yusho and used a similar deck to his called ‘Performage’.”

“Really? Wait, so what is he doing here if he’s from the Xyz dimension? And why is he in the tournament in the first place?”

Yuto didn’t answer and Zarc frowned; for some odd reason, he thinks he’s  _ seen _ Dennis before.

Or rather, he thinks he’s seen a different side of Dennis.

That revelation with Sora has him on edge; it’s always the innocent ones that hide the darkest secrets. He didn’t want to learn that those close to his sons were responsible for giving them pain and suffering.

Still, he needed to keep a good eye on Dennis; he knows that he’s seen that face in the past...

“Father?” Yuya asked sensing Zarc’s trepidation. Zarc ran his hand through Yuya’s hair still thinking, the red and green haired boy shivered. 

** _Don’t worry about me. _ ** Zarc stated kissing the top of Yuya’s head, eyes fixated on the picture of Dennis on the television. 

Minutes later, the announcement ended and dinner was served. It was a quiet affair with everyone tired from today’s events. But for some odd reason, the most quiet of the four at the dinner table was Yugo. 

Yugo’s attitude was...off, to say the least. He had been quiet all of dinner, even eating at a snail's pace. His face just looked hardened, his eyes sad. Not even Yoko giving him an extra slice of an apple pie she baked could lift his spirits. Yoko wanted to question what was going on, but that would be pushing it. She herself was going through a lot of things, such as learning that her boys are actually dragons and that ... _ one  _ of their dads is possissing Yuya, and could potentially kill whoever he liked and probably no one would be the wiser. 

Yeah, she had quite the information overload, not to mention worry as she had no idea what the extent of Zarc’s powers are or if there is a way to negate them or stop them. She sighed and ruffled Yugo’s hair. 

“I’m here if you ever want to talk,” she whispered. “I do want to know the story about that bike of yours anyway.”

Yugo looked up at her and gave her a small sad smile, but nodded, happy for the attention, especially since it was about his D-wheel too; he’s quite proud of it. He still gave a small sigh, rubbing his arm, but said nothing else for the rest of dinner. 

After cleaning the table, the three boys headed up to Yuya's room. There was a bit of difficulty in having to shoo Core, Kilo and Watt away -- each of them snarling and hissing just like En did the night before and having Yoko to carry them downstairs one by one -- before they changed into pajamas and fell into their nest. But unlike other times when they laid down together, Yugo sat away from his brothers, having his back to them and his shoulders hunched.

The red eyed boy approached his older brother, trying to wrap his arms around him. Yugo just shrugged Yuya off and turned away again. 

“Yugo?” Yuya questioned, noticing how Yugo resisted his embrace. Yugo never did that before. “Is...is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine,” Yugo grumbled, still not looking at Yuya. He clenched the bedsheets underneath him as he added, “Everything is just so  _ fucking fine _ !”

“Yugo…” Yuto whispered, noticing how distant Yugo, at stating that he “wasn’t needed” before Yuto went to go after Serena. "Yugo, just tell us what the hell is wrong," he said, not liking Yugo's attitude or Yuya's sad face. 

Yugo growled, body trembling. "What's wrong? You wanna know what's wrong?!" He yelled and stood up, turning back to his brothers, his fists shaking with rage and frustration and sadness. 

His fangs extended, tears of anger filling his beautiful blue eyes, claws extended so much that he had to stop making a fist else he'll hurt himself. Scales appeared under his eyes, glowing brightly, eyes transformed into slits, his black and white long tail hit the ground like a whip. his wings extended, shining like glass. A harsh wind began to blow outside, startling Yuya’s pets and causing them to yelp in terror.

(And Yoko, who had just gotten out of the shower, narrowed her eyes. This was just like that random thunderstorm the night before) 

“IT’S NOT FAIR! YOU'RE BOTH SO...SO… SO SELFISH!” Yugo screamed as howling winds blew outside, rattling the windows, sounding like a chorus of banshees warning that someone will be approaching Death’s door very soon. “WHY DO THE TWO OF YOU GET EVERYTHING?! The attention, the focus on  _ your _ problems...I...I just want Rin back!" he sobbed, tears falling down his face. "I want cards that will help me fight off against those who could harm her, a treasure for my own...Why the fuck do you two get what you need while I’m tossed to the side like I’m some sort of...some sort of  _ pawn _ ?”

He hated that word, ‘pawn’, just some fool being used for someone else’s bidding. Shun’s nickname still lingered his mind. He wasn’t a pawn, he was a prince. The prince of Synchro! The one who will topple the Tops and Commoners and unite them under his rule. Everyone would be treated as equal, Security will only go after those who  _ truly _ deserved justice. 

And Rin...Rin would be by his side. His precious Rin would never leave him again!

Yugo sat back down with a thud and clutched a pillow, "Father is no help either," he said, biting his bottom lip. "He can-he can't…te-tell if she's really alright, or if someone harmed her. He tells me to be patient but I feel so weak and useless. I can't do  _ anything _ ! I can’t sit around doing nothing! I NEED RIN BACK RIGHT NOW!”

He buried his face in the pillow, sniffling a little, his tail curled around his legs as if hugging himself. He just wanted Rin right here and now, waking him up because he overslept or telling him to actually focus instead of having his head stuck in the clouds. He wanted cards like the ones Yuya received or a home like Yuya had, he wanted a treasure like Yuto’s or the bond he had with Shun….

All his life he wanted and wanted and  _ wanted _ and no matter what he did, he could never get those things. Was this how he was going to live his life? Chasing after dreams that will never ever come true?

** _Oh my little boy. _ ** It broke Zarc's heart to see his child this broken like that. His sons should want for nothing, had he truly failed one of his treasures that badly? 

Zarc sent a stream of love and affection to Yugo, but to his surprise Yugo resisted the gesture, shaking his head. He sobbed away, now hiccuping into the pillow, his claws threatening to open it and toss its contents onto the floor

“Oh, Yugo…” Yuya said, tears filling his eyes. “I’m so sorry…you don’t deserve this.”

“...” Yugo said nothing and curled himself into a tighter ball.

** _… Yuya, Yuto show him how much you love him. _ ** Zarc whispered to his two other boys. 

The two younger boys looked confused for a second before Zarc showed them the memory of Yuya kissing an enraged Yuto the night before. 

** _Your brother feels left out of your affection. He wants to be loved; show him that you _ ** **do ** ** _love him. Remind him of how much his family adores him. _ **

Yuya gasped lightly, at a loss for words. Yuto felt a little guilty, having given so much affection to Shun while his brother was there, blatantly showing discomfort at the entire thing. If he had known that Yugo felt like that… Yuto bit his lip. 

He was so worried for his treasure that he forgot that he had something more important than that. His family.

With teary eyes, Yuya approached Yugo again. He kissed the top of Yugo's head gently. "You're right., We really were selfish, weren't we?" Yugo lifted his head up a fraction, showing his sad eyes. "We took you for granted," Yuya continued before rubbing a sensitive spot on Yugo's back, where his wings were. 

Yugo gasped, arching his back, and Yuya tossed the pillow hiding him to the side. Yuto crawled closer to them, giving Yugo a sweet and apologizing smile. The older boy looked at them with teary eyes. Yuto came forward and kissed his cheek, licking the tears away. 

All Yugo could do was whine. Especially after Yuya's lips trailed down his neck with loving kisses. "We're so sorry Yugo," Yuto whispered. "We love you, truly."

"Unquestionably," whispered Yuya to his ear. 

"We're yours too you know," Yuto caressed his cheek and Yugo's hand came up to keep that hand there, as he rubbed his cheek there. 

"We shouldn't have placed anything above you. We were wrong, and we hurt you so much our precious Yugo." 

"What can we do to make it up to you?" Yuto whispered kissing behind Yugo's ear. The older boy gasped. Yuto's lips trailed down Yugo's cheek, and down his neck, where Yuya kissed the other side. Yugo was about to break down, especially with Zarc's fingers gently trailing down his cheek, and sends him more tendrils of love and possessiveness into his mind. 

"I don’t...I don't know," he wailed. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I love you all! You're not selfish, you're my precious family," he sobbed, hugging Yuya and Yuto to him. Yuya hovered over him, and ran his hand through Yugo's hair, before giving him a sweet kiss on his lips that took Yugo's breath away. 

The moment Yuya broke the kiss, another pair of soft lips met his own. Yuto broke the kiss making Yugo gasp. "I don't think that's enough. Do you, Yuto?" Yuya asked playfully. 

"No, our beautiful Yugo needs even  _ more  _ love," Yuto answered with a grin. “So let’s give it to him.”

Yugo squirmed in their arms, wanting more. His brothers giggled at the reaction and spent the next few minutes kissing and caressing every part of Yugo they could reach lovingly. 

But as the boys continued with purrs, mewlings and soft moans, Zarc’s eyes widened. Could it be...could he truly sense...?

….The last of his sons is in the Standard Dimension.

His precious lily, his beautiful rose, the eldest of his sons.

Yuri...Yuri is finally here!

Glee filled Zarc's heart, making his emotions intensify. He wanted to go to Yuri now, hold him in his arms again, make him smile again, and promise that his family would not leave him alone again, remove any sign of Akaba's clutches on his sweet boy.  _ Yuri did not deserve to be treated like this! _

Had he had a physical form, Zarc would have been trampling with anticipation. His child was here after so so long of not seeing him. Yuri! 

_ Mineminemineminemine! He shall be mine once again!  _ This was what Zarc thought, so excited, so giddy at finally having his little treasures in his arms once more.

His children gasped at the emotions Zarc was projecting. Too intense, too consuming. The boys’ eyes rolled to the back of their heads and they were panting and whimpering at the downpour. 

"P-papa," Yugo whimpered and all three shivered before Zarc realized what he was doing. He chuckled, running his hand through their hair, trailing his invisible fingers over their cheeks. 

** _Forgive me my loves. But can't you sense it? Our precious Lily is finally here!_ ** Again the boys trembled. In excitement and awe.

But Yuto and Yugo still had their doubts; Yuri did take their treasures away and had no idea who he truly was. All he was told was “take these girls,” and he did without a second thought.

Yuya was also nervous; how would Yuri react to seeing  _ him _ after all this time? 

** _Do not forget my precious ones that you didn't remember your own selves before as well. You almost killed one another were it not for Yuya. _ ** Zarc reminded them. Guilt gnawed at Yuto and Yugo. Father was right; they were just one second from destroying each other, or worse, hurting Yuya.

** _If you could only see our precious Yuri, my loves. So alone and sad, crying and having no one that loves him in that dimension, where the only recognition he gets is from that accursed Akaba, who's only using Yuri for his skill and then planning to _ ** **kill him** ** _ after he was no longer useful. All because Yuri is part of our family._ **

Anger filled the boys' hearts at the Professor’s cruel desires for his daughter to return, at the world for putting Yuri in a position like that. Their beloved brother deserved nothing less than adoration and love. And once he's back in their arms they'd erase every mark Leo Akaba had inflicted and tainted Yuri's soul and heart, and they shall give Yuri all the love that he wants and needs. No matter how long that takes. 

Always and Forever. 

They're a family after all. They are  _ eternal _ . 

_ “What can we do though?”  _ Yugo thought, wondering where Yuri was right now so he could drive his D-Wheel to that location, pick him up and then lead the two of them home, into the arms of their brothers.

Zarc thought about it for a minute. While he wanted to just go to Yuri directly, he didn’t want to alert Akaba of his presence. Plus, summoning himself so soon would give Yuri a heart attack from how sudden this is. A more subtle approach was needed.

** _Come closer my treasures. Close your eyes. Search for that bond between us all, grasp it, focused on it, and search for the one that leads us to Yuri. _ **

The three closed their eyes and when they opened them, they were in a dark realm surrounded by multiple strings of light. These were their bonds, shining beautiful and radiant. They wanted to grasp them, feel them in their hands. All the strings were shining except one was a little dimmer, grey, dull and lifeless. It looked cold and lonely; none of them liked that. They wanted to make it shine again. 

** _Excellent my darlings. Now, focused on a sweet dream, a memory, and send it to your brother. The connection is dim and tired, but you have to try to make it wake up, and fill it with life once again like how Yuri would bring his garden to life with love and care. _ **

They all nodded closing their eyes and focusing on what they wanted to send Yuri. Love, hope, understanding, a promise that they will see each other soon. The bond began to sparkle with life as Zarc focused on Yuri’s location, projecting a dream for his eldest son to dream of. To hope for.

** _Hang on, my lily. Father is coming..._ **

*************

If you asked Yuri if he can recall his dreams, you’d either get a blunt “No” or, “Why would I even dream of something?” and that's  _ if _ someone was foolish enough or brave enough to look Yuri in the eye for five seconds and ask him that. No one usually was. 

He wished someone asked this though, at least, the past few nights, this was a secret wish that only Starve Venom knew about. Yuri has always been alone. An empty feeling of something missing inside his heart, as if he was only one part of a whole. And these dreams. He could remember not feeling the emptiness that had been a part of him ever since he could understand what emptiness felt like. He remembered feeling warm, happy, whole,  _ loved _ . 

And Yuri _ hated it _ ! Because it was one more thing life has fucked him over with, taunting him with these feelings and then having him wake up to return to the cold isolation. It made Yuri want to scream. 

But he wasn’t doing that right now, sleeping on a bed in preparation for capturing Yuzu Hiragi for the Professor the following morning. He was trying to sleep; instead, his mind was currently in a separate realm from his body, projecting him into a dream not of his own making.

...

…

…

_ He could see himself walking in a strange yet familiar garden. Yuri looked five or six years old. He was walking alone in the garden, smiling happily, looking at all the plants, running around and picking flowers for  _ them. 

_ After he had a little bouquet of flowers with colors like sparkling gems, an idea came to mind as to how to surprise everyone. He eyed a large tree where he could shower the flowers on everyone’s heads! It would be so much fun! _

_ With that determination, Yuri climbed one of the trees, it was so giant, especially to little Yuri. He was always told to be careful though, and he had snuck out of his lessons so his usual companions and chaperones weren't around this time. And without the grown ups telling him to stay away, he could do whatever he wants in this garden!  _

_ And so he started climbing, inching his way to the lowest branch for him to sit on it. But before he knew it, just as he was about to grab onto that branch, he slipped..  _

_ The dream went in slow motion for the real Yuri. He'd never had anyone else but himself to rely on, no one to protect him, help him, hold him. When he got hurt, he always had to help himself. So he had expected nothing else from this dream. It was his normal life.  _

_ Suddenly. a pair of arms caught the little boy before he could fall, bringing the child to his chest and cradling Yuri as if he was such a precious thing.  _

_ "My sweet lily, are you alright?" The man asked. A voice… so familiar, so beautiful and soothing and loving. Yuri wanted to go to him, hug him, beg him to never leave Yuri again.  _

_ The child looked up from the man's chest, and had the most sweet and loving smile on his face, Yuri never remembered smiling like that in his life. The next words from the child shocked him to the core. _

_ "Papa!" The young child squealed in delight, nuzzling into the man's chest. "It was so scary Papa. I almost got hurt," the child pouted, tears in his eyes.  _

_ The man hugged the child closer to him, his face was obscured by shadows so Yuri couldn't see it well. The man kissed the child's tears away, running his hand in the little one’s hair. "Papa has you in his arms right now. But you have to be careful, my sweet Lily. Papa never wants anything bad to happen to one of his precious treasures."  _

_ Yuri couldn't help but feel a blush coming to his cheeks, his heart beating too fast. He has never been in his life considered precious to anyone. And yet this man had referred to the little child, Yuri himself, as one of his precious treasures.  _

_ The scene changed now, and it was a hauntingly familiar scene to Yuri. The little child sat in the middle of a bed, curled up in a ball all alone, crying his eyes out, hiccups escaping his lips. The bed looked far too big, making the child look smaller and more helpless than he actually was.  _

_ Yuri wanted to turn away from looking at this. That situation happened way too often, his heart clenched inside his chest so bad he wanted to yell and cry himself as if he were a child again.  _

_ A knock on the door snapped him out of his desires to let his sorrow burst forth like a broken dam.  _

_ "Yuri?" The voice called. It was the voice of another child. It seemed just as young as Yuri himself was. That development was…new. No one ever came to check up on him. _

_ The little child raised his head from his knees and glared at the door. "Go away!" He yelled, tears in his eyes. "I don't wanna talk to you!" He yelled pouting. The knocking stopped and little Yuri's head fell back on his knees. But that wasn't the end of it.  _

_ The door swung open and another child came in. He looked like Yuri too, but he had cerulean hair, yellow crescent bangs and crystal clear blue eyes.  _

_ Wait...that boy looked familiar... _

_ The familiar boy tried climbing onto the bed. He failed a few times but didn't give up. With a determined pout, he clutched the sheets and climbed and climbed and climbed until he finally reached the mattress. The boy's name was... _

_ "Yuri…" _

_ "Go away, Yugo!" Little Yuri yelled glaring at…at Yugo. Both of the boys were pouting, both held tears in their eyes. Yuri looked angry, and Yugo's eyes looked guilty and apologetic.  _

_ "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, my Lily. I didn't mean to say those things to you!" Yugo begged. But little Yuri looked away still angry. _

_ Yugo wrapped his arms around little Yuri, hugging the child tighter.  _

_ Yuri struggled in his hold his little fists hitting Yugo wanting him to let go. "No, no let go of me! You're stupid, you're so  _ stupid  _ Yugo!"  _

_ The younger Yuri cried harder before his fists loosened and clutched onto Yugo sobbing into his shoulder. Little Yugo began crying too, hugging little Yuri to him like the boy was a pillow. A time later when both boys had stopped crying, Yugo reached for him and gently wiped little Yuri's tears away before kissing him under his eyes.  _

_ Yuri's heart clenched at that scene so tender and loving. No one, his age or otherwise had ever been this sweet to him. Not even the Professor showed signs of affection to him. Perhaps a “Good job” whenever he accomplished a task, but never something like this. _

_ "I really am sorry, Yuri," Yugo said before getting something from behind him. It was a lily flower, with bright pink hues like a heart. Little Yuri's eyes widened before getting a loving happy expression on his face. "I was very stupid and mean. I didn't mean it." _

_ Little Yuri looked at Yugo and gave him a small smile and nodded. "...I know."  _

_ Yugo smiled at little Yuri and tucked the lily into his hair. The pink haired child smiled brightly at this gift.  _

_ The door swung open once more and two little boys with the same faces as Yuri and Yugo approached them, one with red and green hair the other with lavender and raven locks. They tried climbing the bed too before someone else, the same man from the previous dream grabbed both in his arms --which made the two of the squeal in delight-- and sat on the bed as well, the two boys in his lap.  _

_ The man… Father… opened his arms wide, invitingly, lovingly beckoning all of his children to reach for him.  _

_ Yuri's eyes widened when he realized that he himself had extended his hand to reach the man, to reach them all. The man's shadowy face turned to him, and Yuri froze in place. The man extended his own hand back and Yuri just wanted to take it, grab it, hold it, please let him stay, pleasepleasepleaseohplease stay with him....  _

_ "Now sweet Lilly, my thorned Rose, my most cunning love.” The person whispered. “Come home, come to me, my darling." _

_ Yes! Yes, Yuri wants to be home. Please let him come home! _

_ The shadows slowly disappeared, showing him a pair of soft adoring golden eyes looking at Yuri like he was far too precious and loved…  _

_ And that’s when he woke up. _

***************

His eyes snapped open. Cheeks wet from crying, Yuri sat up, clutching the sheets before screaming in frustration. Heartbroken that he'll never get that. He'll never have a loving family, never have a father or brothers that love him. Never be precious to anyone,  _ never  _ be kissed with such love and affection…. 

Why?! Why was Starved Venom doing this to him?! He had never been cruel to Yuri! He was the only partner Yuri could ever rely on, the only thing that ever showed care for Yuri in a heartless world of poisonous intent. 

He grabbed his deck, looking for the card before glaring at his most beloved monster with tears and sorrow in his eyes. 

“IS THIS SOME SICK JOKE TO YOU?!” Yuri screamed at his prized monster. “Do you think you have the right to fuck with my mind like that? Teasing me with things that  _ won’t ever exist?! _ ”

Upon receiving no answers of any kind from some ink on cardboard, he slammed Starved Venom Fusion Dragon onto the bedside table face-down before snarling in anger. This was too much; why wouldn’t these feelings just go away and leave him alone?! Better to live with the isolation because at least that was  _ real _ compared to these fantasies that would never be!

He laid in bed, doing his best not to cry. These dreams were more painful from the isolation of other Academia students. At least he understood that the students hated him, but he couldn’t tell the intentions of these dreams!

Why would someone show him horrible memories of his past and attach these additions onto them? Additions that he  _ wanted _ so much to happen yet never did?! 

As Yuri placed a hand on his head to calm himself down, he felt something out of place…

He picked up the item that was tucked into his hair and pulled it out. HIs eyes widened in surprise when he saw what was in his hand.

It was the same pink lily from the dream.

No, this was from a dream. This wasn’t real. Whoever was doing this was going to  _ pay _ when Yuri finally caught them! He had half of mind of crushing this flower in his hand right there and now.

** _My beloved Yuri. _ ** The boy gasped, the lily falling on the bed out of surprise and shock.

"Who's there?" He asked getting out of bed so fast. looking around for any danger. 

** _You can hear me now, my beloved child? _ ** And Yuri gasped with a realization striking him like lightning bolts. The voice in his head, whispering words that Yuri could not understand but could feel the affection and love in, the same voice of the man in his dream his younger self had called father. It was the same melodic beautiful loving voice. In his mind, the shadows on the man's face had disappeared and he could see him clearly. A face just like his own, a little older, with the most loving tender smile aimed at Yuri.

But it sounded too good to be true. And Yuri had grown used to seeing his hopes die like flowers in winter.

_ No no no no it’s not real. This isn't real  _ ** _you're not real._ ** _ It’s a lie, just another figment of my imagination caused by Starved Venom or my desperation or loneliness. Go away go away go away! IhateyouIhatyeouIhateyouIhateyou…. _

Loving arms enveloped Yuri in them, causing him to gasp. He also thought he felt someone nuzzle his cheek.  ** _We will come for you my thorned Rose. Please wait for us._ **

“...We?” 

The answer to that was a simple kiss on Yuri's cheek. And the boy couldn't help but tremble. Childishly, he jumped back into the bed, wrapping the covers around himself, as if hiding there would keep the boogie man away. Even if said boogie man was the most wonderful thing Yuri had ever been gifted with. He trembled for a bit more before realizing the presence was no more. He poked his head out of the covers, only to notice the lily that had been in his hair now laid gently over Starved Venom, who was now flipped face up. The dragon was...cooing, when Yuri usually heard it growl or roar in reply, the words  _ Master _ and  _ beloved one _ floating in Yuri's mind. 

"... Starved Venom?" He asked in wonder at his monster's reaction. 

But the card was silent once more.

**********

  
  


It broke Zarc's heart, truly it did. His own child in a state such as this. Rejecting even him and accepting this cold and cruel reality than the warmth and love he would give the poor boy so soon…

The sadness and heartbreak was felt throughout his other sons. They had no idea Yuri suffered like that; they wanted him in their arms right now, in their little nest, away from Academia, Akaba and his troubles.

** _Yuya, may I take over? _ ** Zarc asked softly, Yuya's lips trembled before nodding, and loving Darkness enveloped him. 

Through the body of his youngest son, Zarc opened his golden eyes and looked at his other two sons before him. 

"Father… " Yugo trailed off. 

Zarc gave them a smile before opening his arms to the two of them. Yugo and Yuto didn't hesitate, falling into their father's arms. With no physical form Father's touches had always felt too light, like a phantom, to both him and his children. Being a soul and using his powers didn't compare to having a physical body, but it was the only way to touch and interact and show love to his children. 

"Soon," Zarc said. "Soon you will  _ all  _ be in my arms again," he whispered, hugging Yugo and Yuto tighter. Both boys sighed in bliss, eyes closed as they buried themselves in their father's neck. 

*********

"Feeling better Yugo?" Yuto asked as he snuggled close to his brother. After Zarc had given Yuya's body back to him, the two younger brothers agreed that it would be best to put Yugo in the middle of them tonight. 

Now they laid there in their nest, Yugo lying comfortably while Yuto and Yuya lay on each side of him. 

"As much as I still miss Rin, and I need new cards for my deck...I'm glad to know I wasn't tossed aside by my family," he said, his now cheery grin back into place. 

"Yugo… " Yuto whispered worriedly. 

Yuya kissed Yugo's cheek gently and snuggled to his chest. "Never, we love you forever Yugo," Yuto nodded his head before adding, “Forever and ever.”. 

And with that in mind, the three of them fell happily to the loving Darkness of sleep. 


	7. Chapter 6 (Part 1): Raging Royals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle Royale begins which includes: Yoko being a badass, Shun and Yuto ravishing each other, Yuya beating Obelisk Force using a monster wielding a sparkler and again, MORE AWESOME YOKO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys chapter 6 Part 1 Is here.  
Now Green_Phantom_Queen and I would like to go over several things
> 
> First  
Yes I did change my name. 
> 
> Second  
The two of us really really love and enjoy writing Yoko in this fic
> 
> we still regret nothing, not even Shun who's duel with Sora we moved earlier so the timeline is a bit mangled for convenience of story telling
> 
> Warnings: Shun

Serena couldn’t sleep.

Then again, she always had trouble sleeping thinking about why she was never given the attention she wanted from the Professor. The only thing she could think about at night was what she needed to do in order for the Professor to finally look at her as a soldier, not a princess. The strategies, how many victories against the weaker students who tried to hide their abilities with fake bravado...anything she could do to finally get the Professor to listen she would take it.

But this was different. Much more different than that. Her talk with the Professor’s son Reiji, and the Xyz user from Heartland  _ Yuto _ had her entire world flipped on its head. Her fellow Academia students would harm, card and hunt every citizen in the Xyz dimension as if it was a game and even now after talking more with the Xyz user his friend or… _ boyfriend.  _ Ugh, one more thing Serens needs to wrap her mind about. 

That’s when she felt something was off. Sitting up in her bed, and feeling the wind breeze come in from the open window, her eyes turned to the window to see someone there. A man sat there on her windowsill, wearing a cloak, white and green with black outlines. He also wore a similar colored mask that covered his sparkling golden eyes. All in all, he looked ready for a masquerade instead of trying to...

...Wait a second, how did he get in here? Wasn’t she on the 31st floor? 

“How the hell did you get -- ?!” Serena began to yell, searching for her duel disk and ready for a fight...before she took a good look at the stranger underneath the moonless sky. She squinted. “What the...who the hell are you?”

The strange masked figure chuckled. ”Hello Serena,” he said, voice quite pleasant and soft. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.” 

Serena gasped. “W...what?” she asked, hopping out of her bed and now in a defensive stance. “How did you get here? How do you know my name? What do you want?!” 

He chuckled and put a finger over where his lips would be in a hushed gesture. “All in good time, little luna. Just be a bit more patient with me, please.”

Serena blinked. “Little what?” No one ever gave her a nickname like that before. The usual ones were “Princess” and “Kitty”, but those were all mocking used by Academia students due to her status as the Professor’s “baby girl” or the fact that she frequently mauled her opponents with Lunalight Cat Dancer.

The cloaked figure smirked, giving Serena a feline grin like the one on the face of Lunalight Blue Cat. “You see, Yuto and Yugo told me about you, told me how you were treated like a fragile princess by that Professor Akaba and how you wanted a chance to prove yourself. I can see it just by looking at you. You’re strong, I see a lot of potential in you,” he came closer and kneeled to be at the same level as her, giving her a soft charming smile. 

“So did Reiji…” Serena muttered, looking away.

The cloaked stranger nodded his head. “But unlike him, I want to make you stronger. Help you walk your own path. Prove yourself to everyone whoever doubted you. For you see…” The expression on his face turned grim, as if he had just heard news of an execution. “You are in danger, Serena.”

“Danger?” Serena frowned. “So what? I can handle danger just fine. Nobody can hold me down.”

But when she saw the stranger’s golden eyes soften, this caught her off guard 

“Serena, do you know the reason why the Professor kept you locked up and hidden away?” The man questioned.

“I...I always wondered about that.” Serena admitted. “Why...does he though? Does he think I’m weak or something?”

“No, it’s something even more despicable than that. It’s because he didn’t want to lose his sacrifice.”

“Sa-sacrifice?! What are you talking about?” 

The man sighed. “Before the world split into the four dimensions you know today, Professor Leo Akaba had...a daughter, Ray, whom he loved like no other. When the world split into four pieces, she was the center of it, and from that you along with three others make the four pieces of Ray Akaba, each of them forgetting your past life as her and gifted with one of her bracelets. The professor wants to gather you and the other counterparts; Yuzu Hiragi, Ruri Kurosaki and Rin in order to bring Ray back to life. 

“You already know that Obelisk Force will be chasing you down, but the Professor now knows of Yuzu’s existence and will be tasking Yuri to retrieve her.”

“And the Professor already has Rin and Ruri,” Serena added, remembering what Shun, Yuto and Yugo told her. “But...but if Obelisk Force gets their hands on me and Yuri captures Yuzu...then that...that means…” 

It all came crashing down on Serena.

“He...wants to...the Professor...he…wants to...” Serena stammered. 

Then it felt like Serena’s heart stopped beating.

No...no….nononononoNONONONONONO!!!!

Serena gripped her head in shock, feeling her heart pounding in her chest as she came to the realization just what was coming to her.

In the eyes of the Professor, she was not a warrior, not a princess, not even a human being. She was nothing more than an animal about to be slaughtered.

The man sadly nodded his head. “He cares for no one except himself. He uses the idea of a ‘united utopia’ as an excuse to bring back this one girl. One girl he will offer up the lives of you, Rin, Ruri and Yuzu. For one girl he made a school into a training camp and converted wide-eyed children wanting to duel for fun into soldiers who have fun hunting people down for sport. For one girl, he destroyed Heartland and placed a tyrant in that of the Synchro Dimension. For one girl, he will turn all those who are carded into an energy source! Is  _ this _ the man you seek approval from now, Serena?  _ Is he _ ?!”

Serena’s pupils shrank and she backed away from the man with fear. No, this can’t be...this can’t be!

“The Professor...no…” she said in one of the few times she has ever shown fear. “No…!”

“Yes,” The man stated sadly. 

Serena looked down at her bracelet. This bracelet was the only possession she ever had before she was ‘adopted’ by the Professor. And now she wanted to chuck it out of the window and hoped a car ran through it, crushing it into pieces. Instead, she shook her head.

“If what you’re saying is true, that means...Barrett….he’s also deluded,” she said, now pitying him. She knew bits and pieces of his past -- like how he obtained the burns over his left eye -- but to find that he was also a blind fool to Akaba’s schemes, protecting her until she was ready to be sacrificed to the gods…This made her want to go to Barrett and warn him about what he’s done.

Serena was breathing hard now, almost as if having a panic attack. Everything, everything she thought she knew was now proven a lie. And the man who she wanted to impress the most, to get his approval, cared nothing for her, but saw her as a sacrifice for someone else. 

Strong arms wrapped themselves around Serena, and she couldn’t help but cling to them, trying her hardest not to show the tears forming in her eyes. They were the only thing keeping her steady and felt real around her right now. “Shh, I know, I know how scared and angry you must be feeling right now. I got you, it’s ok.” The stranger ran his black gloves through Serena’s hair. “I know it’s not fair, you don’t deserve this, to be hidden away, only thought of as a tool, sacrificed and not even thought of as your own person.

“But I don’t see you like that, I see you for who you are, Serena. Not as a delicate flower, or a fragile princess, not a sacrifice for a cruel and uncaring god. I see you as a true warrior, one who can fight beside the dragons themselves, and I would love it if you joined me in battle against the Professor. You can grow stronger, and be protected by your own powers from Academia, from the professor. Be  _ free  _ of the walls he imposed on you for so long.”

“...” Serena hugged this man tighter and sniffled a bit.

“You don’t have to give me your answer now. However, I do have a special gift for you. Consider it a show of my faith in you,” the man reached into his belt where a pouch was before producing a card, giving it to Serena. “I hope he serves you well,” he said as she took the card from him with shaking hands.

“T...thank you…” she whispered.

“You’re welcome.” The stranger turned and headed towards the window. Just before he was about to step on it, he paused. “Oh and one more piece of advice.”

“What’s that?” Serena wondered, afraid to ask just what type of news she was about to hear now.

The figure turned around, his face appeared stern. “Do not trust any of the Akabas, Little Luna. Not the Professor, not Himika, not Reiji. They will lead you astray.”

“Wait, what do you mean by..”

But before Serena could finish, the cloaked man jumped out of the window which made Serena’s eyes widen in more shock, considering how high they were. She jumped up and went to the window, looking everywhere for the man...but he was neither on the ground in a crumpled heap of broken bones and blood nor was he clinging to something on the building.

Serena took several breaths to calm herself down before looking at the card she was gifted with by the stranger. Blood Moon Fusion Dragon.

Something about this card called to her, like she could hear the ocean from a seashell (which she never did, given where she lived, but it did sound kind of nice). She placed it close to her heart as she laid down in bed, recalling what the man told her.

_ “I see you as someone who can fight beside dragons themselves.” _ . 

And that phrase was still on Serena’s mind as she drifted off to sleep.

****************

Morning came too soon for everyone. 

And as soon as everyone freshened up for the day and Yoko prepared a meal in her slow cooker and fliped enough pancakes to feed an army, she and her sons would begin finalizing the plans for the Battle Royale.

“Morning Mom,” said Yuya, heading downstairs to the dining room, excited to eat breakfast. “Pancakes smell…”

He stopped when he noticed how his mother was already seated at the dinner table, waiting for him. She wore a red top along with a long white jacket and matching pants with a red belt. She also wore black leather boots and was currently looking up something on her tablet. She looked out of place in comparison to the set table, the three plates of pancakes, the syrup bottle and bowl of berries and the pitcher of milk.

“Mom…” Yuya whispered, eyes wide.

“Yoko-san…” Yuto said, Yugo behind him. “We’re ready for...whoa…”

Yoko looked up from her work and then took notice at the astonished looks on their faces. “How do I look?” she asked, giving her sons a wink.

“You look  _ amazing _ !” Yugo said in surprise.

Zarc was laughing in agreement. It seemed as if Yoko was like a matryoshka doll -- revealing outer layers to show a brand new side of her.  ** _Yuya, your mother is just full of surprises!_ **

And he was still laughing as everyone had breakfast; it was going to be a light affair since Yuya would be running about and didn’t need to be distracted by throwing up everything at the side. Yugo happily indulged in pancakes and Yoko was happy to see his humongous appetite after how solemn he was the night before.

Yoko finished early -- she always ate light before she got on her motorcycle; a habit she had because one never knew when she had to be out in a brawl -- and showed her tablet to her sons.

“All right then,” she said, showing a drawing on her tablet that was a rudimentary sketch of the city. “The Battle Royale will take place throughout the entire city with an Action Field divided into four quarters, right?”

“Yes,” said Yugo.

“And while the duelists go out and collect Pendulum Cards to bet again, Reiji has you, Yuto, Shun and this…’Serena’ go out to keep an eye out for these Academia soldiers before they cause any trouble.”

“They call themselves, Obelisk Force,” Yuto explained. “They’re all about attacking in packs of three and using Ancient Gear monsters to prevent the opponent from using Spell or Trap Cards when they attack.”

Yoko nodded her head. “But they can’t do anything in regards to monster effects...ugh, it’s times like these that I wished I decided to pick up an online dueling course.”

“And while I’m out dueling and you’re out patrolling, Yuri will be nearby,” said Yuya.

“But how are we going to locate him?” asked Yoko. “I mean, Reiji is going to be monitoring the city, but he’ll be more concerned about people being kept in the dark about the invasion than finding your brother. He...doesn’t know that you’re all brothers, right? Nor does he know that I’m in the know about this?”

“No,” said Yuto.

“Good. Now...how are we going to figure out where he’s hiding?”

The four thought about it for a moment; Yuri would be looking for Yuzu, but he’d be discreet about it and wait until the pink haired girl was alone so that he can get her without much of a fight. By the time they figured out where he would be, Yuri would have returned with his target to the Fusion Dimension. So they have to make sure to find Yuri long before he could locate Yuzu. 

But how will they be able to locate him in such a short time? Who could help them --

Then, Yuya’s eyes widen and he slammed his hands on the table. “Mieru!” he shouted.

“Mieru Hochun?” Yoko asked. “The girl that you dueled with the crystal apple? The one who lost her duel to Tsukikage on the first turn?”

“She has the ability to track people down with her crystal apple,” Yuya explained. “Yuzu told me that Mieru used it to locate me before the tournament started.”

“But considering what Zarc said about Yuri, not to mention those soldiers running about, is it a good idea to keep her out in the open?”

“I’ll tell her to hide as soon as she helps us locate Yuri,” said Yuya. 

“Then it’s settled,” said Yoko, clapping her hands. “Now then, Yugo. After breakfast, perhaps you can explain how you built that bike of yours?”

“Of course, kaa-san!” Yugo said cheerfully without thinking.

Yoko raised her eyebrow. “ _ Kaa-san _ ?”

“Y-yeah,” Yugo said, realizing just what he said. “I...never had a mother before. And you treat us and call us _your sons_. I thought...I thought it would be okay if I called you that. Y-you don’t mind do you?” 

Yoko smiled and shook her head. “Of course not, dear,” she said, ruffling his hair, causing Yugo to smile in response. She then turned to Yuto. “It’s okay, you can call me ‘Mom’ too.”

“...I will,  _ kaa-san _ ,” Yuto said with a small smile on his face.

And Yoko just watched as her sons happily finished off their breakfast.

***************

After breakfast, the four entered the garage. That’s when Yoko pulled off the tarp off of something that had been hiding in the corner for years...revealing a white motorcycle with red trim.

“Whoa….” Yuya whispered. “You rode on this?”

“Yep,” Yoko smiled. “ _ Ningyo _ has been by my side ever since I was old enough to ride.” She then turned to Yugo’s D-Wheel with its silver body and black stripes. “Do you have a name for her?”

“Uh…I was going to let Rin name it,” Yugo answered, recalling how he and Rin dueled over the right to name their life’s work. “She...she’s the one who was better at stuff like this.”

“You really have high praise for Rinrin, don’t you?”

“Yeah I -- Rinrin?!” Yugo asked with a blush.

Yoko chuckled. “Tell me about her. She really seems so precious to you; she must be something else.” 

“She...she is,” Yugo said, looking at the D-Wheel. Was it really three years ago when Yugo first showed off the crayon drawing to Rin about what they wanted to build? The days reading through manuals, bargaining for the best quality parts, the days where Yugo would duel in order to obtain as much cash as possible...and just when they were about to make their dreams come true, Rin was taken away from him!

“Yugo,” said Yoko, noticing the look in his eye. “It’s going to be okay,” she said, hugging the boy to her. “You’re going to be reunited with her soon I’m sure of it.”

Yugo threw his arms around Yoko, hugging her tighter as tears started to fall down. “I miss her...so much, I just...I just want her back, safe in my arms forever. She’s always, she’s always been so strong, and stubborn and beautiful! The look in her eyes could kill, or freeze you in place but I loved it so!”

“From how you describe her, I could imagine that she’s a proud maiden of the ice. I’d love to challenge my skills in dueling against her one of these days.”

Yugo sniffled and wiped his tears on Yoko’s blouse. He chuckled. “No, not ice. She’s like...like a raging storm, powerful, always moving. Nothing stands in her way, beautiful and deadly all in one.” 

Yoko placed a firm pat on Yugo’s shoulder. “She’ll be back. I’m sure your Father is already planning on something that  _ probably  _ has to do with that bracelet on your wrist.”

Yugo’s eyes widened as he looked at his bracelet.  _ ‘How did she…?”  _ “Wh-what do you mean by that?” he asked tilting his head 

Yoko sighed. “Rin, Ruri, Yuzu and Serena were all based on Ray. They have two things in common from what I noticed: similar faces and a silver bracelet on their right wrist. Right?”

“R...right…” Yuto began, also looking at his bracelet. ‘ _ She already…’ _

_ ‘Figured something out?” _

Zarc couldn’t help but smirk.  _ Nothing _ escaped Yoko’s watchful eye.

At the awkward silence, Yoko sighed. “Now what exactly would your Father want to do with a bunch of bra--

“Oh darling~ I came as soon as I -- WHAT THE?!”

Everyone in the garage turned to look at the person who had arrived. Mieru Hochun with her crystal apple looked in confusion upon seeing Yuya and then at Yuto and Yugo.

“T...two more...darlings?” Mieru stammered, noticing Yuto and Yugo. “W...what...the?”

Yuya smiled and rubbed the back of his head. “It’s...kind of a long story. Mieru, the one with purple hair is Yuto and the one with blond bangs is Yugo.”

“S...so that’s what my tarot reading was warning me about!” Mieru exclaimed. “The card I drew for today was The Sun that means that whatever I am searching for is about to come soon. That, combined with Five of Wands that talks about people coming together for a goal of some sorts….”

Yugo and Yuto blinked as Mieru rambled on and on about her fortune reading.  _ “She’s really that good?”  _ asked Yuto.

_ “Yeah, you should’ve seen my duel with her, just the coin toss itself had a meaning. Looking back at it, the dragon and the devil from her coin flip...it really should have triggered something back then.”  _ Yuya replied, sensing Zarc searching through the memories of that particular moment.

** _This girl has talent, that is for sure. _ ** Zarc admitted.  ** _If I had her skills back when Ray roamed the Earth, that would’ve been able to save us plenty of heartbreak._ **

_ “This is our second chance, Father, we’re not going to waste it,”  _ Yuya thought back, and Zarc smiled, kissing his forehead. 

** _That’s right, my little Shooting Star, that’s exactly right. _ **

“Mieru,” said Yuya, approaching the fortune-teller. “I need you to listen very carefully.”

“Anything for you, my love!” Mieru exclaimed. “But first, could you explain why there are two more people that look just like you?”

“It’s kind of complicated,” Yuya explains. “But that’s not the point. Mieru, there is another boy that somewhere in this city who has my face.”

“Haah? Another one that looks like my Darling! How  _ amazing _ !” Mieru squealed.

_ “Is she mind controlled too?”  _ Yugo asked with a bit of annoyance. 

_ “No...sort of...she has a crush on me. She’s been acting like that ever since I beat her in a duel, she’s just...mostly controlled to not fear Father’s Darkness.”  _ Yuya explained.

_ “Oh,  _ that’s  _ just swell…”  _ Yugo muttered.

“What does he look like? What are his favorite interests? What type of monsters does he duel with?” Mieru questioned.

“Um, he has purple hair and pink eyes, he likes gardening and he uses Fusion,” Yuya hastily answered.”Anyway, I’m gonna need you to locate him during the Battle Royal, okay?” 

“Yes of course! Anything for you, Darling!”

“But be very careful,” Yuya added. “He’s very dangerous. The minute you locate him, contact one of my...brothers or my mom. Once we find Yuri, get as far away as you can. Things are going to get dangerous.” 

“Brothers... _ dangerous _ ?” Mieru looked at both Yugo and Yuto and then back at Yuya. “Oh...alright, Darling, if you say so,” she said with a nod. 

Yoko raised her eyebrow. Mieru seemed  _ too  _ accepting of the idea that alternate versions of her son were really brothers, crush on Yuya or not.

Nevertheless, despite the high probability that Zarc probably charmed the little girl, that wasn’t the issue at hand.

“Right so, the plan is Yuya duels like he knows nothing, Yuto is there for back up while Serena and I back Yuzu if she needed us. Meanwhile, Mieru-chan looks for Yuri and, in that case, Yuya duels him, that right?” Yoko clarified.

“Essentially yes,” said Yuto with a nod. Yuya nodded as well. 

“Let’s head out then,” Yugo said, putting his helmet on and getting on his D-wheel, Yuto riding behind him (and still refusing to wear that pink and white helmet Yugo offered him. He instead gave it to Mieru to protect her from injury). 

“Do your best, Yuya!” Yugo shouted.

“Don’t you dare lose!” said Yuto playfully. The two of them resisted the urge to give Yuya a good luck kiss, and sped off to the LDS tower and to Reiji’s office. 

Yoko revved her motorcycle, loving the purr it gave off. “You want a ride to the stadium, sweetie?” she asked, slipping her helmet on.

“No, I’ll walk,” Yuya said. He always liked walking and running anyway.

  
  


“Shame. I mean; back when you were younger, you always wanted a ride with your babysitters…”

Yuya blinked. “Huh?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Yoko muttered. “Come on Mieru, ride with me.”

“Right! Thank you Yoko-san,” Mieru replied, hopping onto the motorcycle..

She slipped her crystal apple into the coin purse strapped to her side. She then turned to Yuya, a blush on her cheeks.

But just as Yoko sped off, Mieru thought she was seeing things...but did Yuya’s shadow…grow larger?

No...she was just seeing things...wasn’t she?

***************

Amongst the other finalists for the duel -- Michio, Tsukikage and another ninja, two exchange students from LDS and two students from Ryozanpaku School who looked ready to lynch Yuya, a fisherman, three knights, Dennis, Gongenzaka and Yuzu -- Yuya felt jittery being stared at by the entire audience.

Even though he’s had the audience stare at him before, this was different. He knew that Yuri was out there, that Obelisk Force was coming after Yuzu, that Dennis Macfield, someone Yuto knew from the Xyz Dimension, was somehow a student of LDS, that Reiji wanted Yuri apprehended and his memories erased…

To quote Futoshi, Yuya Sakaki had “the shivers”.

Yuzu took a glance at her friend, at the smile on his face and the worry in his crimson eyes. Something was wrong, and she still had her doubts about what happened that night with Sora. Not to mention that there were no signs of Yuto...

“Yuya…” Yuzu began, turning to her friend. “Have you…”

“Hmm?” asked Yuya. “Have I what?”

“I...remember what I said about Yuto?” Yuzu began. “I haven’t seen him in days. Have you heard anything from him?”

Yuya blinked, she was really worried about his brother. He wanted to tell her, but he didn’t feel like it was the right time yet, besides if he said anything now, all the new information would overwhelm Yuzu and she wouldn’t focus on the battles ahead. “No, I don’t think so, but I’m sure Yuto is just fine, There’s no need to worry,” he said with an encouraging smile. 

“Yuya…”

“Hey,” Yuya said, putting his hands on her shoulder and giving her an encouraging look. “Don’t worry about anything except winning and entertaining the crowd, ok? This is a Battle Royal and I know how bright you can shine! It’s time to show the world what Yuzu Hiragi can do.” 

“Yu-Yuya,” Yuya stammered, her cheeks went red at the praise. She smiled gratefully, her eyes shining as she nodded. “Right!” 

And Yuya’s smile widened. This must have been how Yuto and Yugo felt about Ruri and Rin. About their treasures...Yuza Hiragi was such a beautiful treasure, Yuya’s treasure, and he’ll do anything to keep her. 

“Oh, speaking of Yuto…” said Yuzu. “Yuya, that dragon you summoned...Black Mirror Xyz Dragon…”

“Yeah?”

“How did you obtain that monster? When did you learn how to Xyz summon?”

“Oh… Well I was...secretly practicing, and found Black Mirror in a booster pack. That’s all,” Yuya answered, darting his eyes back and forth. “Uh...why do you ask?” 

“O-oh...well, it’s just it was a really powerful monster, and it just looked so much like Dark Rebellion and it had a similar effect too…”

** _Quite the curious little one isn’t she? _ ** Zarc noted, sensing his son’s guilt and worry.

_ “She’s just worried for us. I’ll tell her eventually.”  _ Yuya answered.

** _She might not accept what she hears, my Shooting Star, and you refuse to use any method of...persuasion on her. She is a part of Ray after all; she might turn on us. _ **

_ “But you said it yourself; Yuzu, Rin, Ruri and Serena...they’re  _ not  _ Ray. Yuzu is my treasure Father! Please let me handle it myself.”  _

Zarc sighed.  ** _Very well… _ **

Yuya nodded his head as Zarc took a glance at Dennis Macfield. There was something familiar about this boy; he knows he has seen him somewhere else other than the Xyz Dimension. But...where?

Yuya blinked, Father was worried again...but just as he was about to ask why, the timer counting down reached zero and the door to the stadium opened.

**_Don’t worry about me, shooting star._** said Zarc. **_Go. Duel. Perform and make people smile. Make me proud._**

Yuya shivered as he readied his mind for what was about to happen.  _ “Yes Father.” _

Zarc chuckled and ran his claws through Yuya’s hair.  ** _I know you. You’ll do great._ **

And that was the last thing Zarc whispered before Yuya raced out of the stadium and into the city.

***************

Once Yuto and Yugo reached LDS tower, and got off of Yugo’s D-wheel, Shun was standing outside waiting for them to arrive alongside Serena. who still looked troubled with the events and information that she had received last night, not to mention the lack of sleep.

Yuto’s eyes had zeroed quickly in on Shun, as he smiled and walked immediately towards him, giving him a kiss, which Shun had immediately and happily returned. 

_ “Hello my treasure,”  _ he greeted the older boy. 

Shun smiled.  _ “My Prince, I missed having you in my arms.”  _ Yuto broke the kiss and caressed Shun’s cheek lovingly.  _ “I saw the mark you placed upon my bare flesh last night. It was  _ glorious _ .” _

Serena shivered at the display, eyes wide as she looked at both of them. 

Yugo sighed coming to stand beside Serena. “It’s best to just ignore them while they’re in that mood...which has become always,” Serena glanced at Yugo who removed his helmet with a sigh and nodded. Yugo tilted his head sensing something...different yet familiar about Serena. .

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You look...rattled, I suppose.” 

“It’s...it’s nothing,” Serena answered, a hand behind her back, clutching the Fusion monster she received the night before. “I’m just...thinking about what I learned about the invasion of the Xyz dimension. I can’t believe I was fed those lies!”

Yugo put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. “It’s okay, you’re better off now, and you don’t have to live with the guilt of doing anything wrong yet...Furthermore..” he leaned in to whisperer, “Now you can take your revenge on the professor, and he would be none the wiser, right?” 

Serena nodded her head, but she still looked somewhat worried. “Yeah...he won’t be.” Yugo smiled and patted her shoulder once more. 

The four entered the office and rode the elevator in silence. Yuto slipped his hand into Shun’s and gave it a squeeze, but other than that, none of them were in the mood to talk.

Inside Reiji’s office were Reiji himself, Reira, Nakajima and the nine members of the LDS Youth Division. Shun, Yuto, Yugo and Serena knew what they had to do -- to move out and patrol the city for any Obelisk Force soldiers that could cause any trouble while the finalists of the tournament distracted the audience with the Battle Royale. Reiji boasted that the LDS Youth Division would be able to fight off the invaders...

But Yuto didn’t know whether to laugh or to look in shock at the nine students that would be ‘fighting’ Obelisk Force.

_ “These are going to be the guys stopping his father’s soldiers?”  _ Yugo questioned, looking at the nine duelists.  _ “ _ This _ is Reiji’s great plan?” _

_ “He spends three years planning for an invasion and he only has  _ this _ as a result?!”  _ Yuto agreed. 

_ “Father…All of the Akabas are idiots.”  _ Yugo grumbled.

** _You have no idea, my dear._ **

Yuu Sakuragi took a glance at Shun and sneered. “Just make sure you don’t chicken out.”

At that comment, Shun wished that he could be like his prince and transform into a dragon. If only to use his claws to slice that smug bastard’s throat out. 

_ “I’m betting that he’ll be the one to run away like a coward, my prince.”  _ Shun snarled.

_ “You’re betting? My, my...what will you bet if you lose, my treasure?”  _ Yuto asked playfully, his hand sneaking up on Shun’s back and resting right under the mark

Shun shivered, wanting the current of pleasure to pulse through his body.  _ “Perhaps you’d...want me to...dance for you?” _

Yuto blinked.  _ “Dance?” _

_ “I...had a strange fantasy last night…”  _ Shun began, recalling the dream he had the night before.  _ “You on your throne in your glorious dragon form, me adorned in silks and veils and gold, the room smelling of frankincense, drums and cymbals clanging, me dancing and twirling, staring at you with golden eyes, doing all I can to get you off your throne so you can run your hands all over my -- “ _

_ “YUTO WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT NOW?!”  _ Yugo shouted sensing the lust that was building inside Yuto. 

Both of them froze and Yuto blinked, taking a deep breath and releasing it in order to gain a little control.  _ “Uh...nothing?”  _

** _“_ ** _ Gods! Just  _ please  _ contain your urge to fuck yourselves stupid at bay for one second!”  _ Yugo fumed, gritting his teeth.  _ “Yuri is out there and so is Obelisk Force. We have to get ready!” _

_ “I know, I know.”  _ Yuto replied with a groan.

_ “If you know what we have to do, then WHY THE HELL ARE YOU -- “ _

“Would you guys just stop it!!” Serena snapped. “Shun still has to play his part in participating at the Battle Royal, we don’t need any distractions.”

_ “Did she just…”  _ Yugo took a good look at Serena before his eyes widened.  _ “Oh...oh!”  _

_ “What is it?”  _ asked Yuto.

_ “Well aside from the fact that she noticed you, me and Shun talking, there’s a faint aura that feels like Father around her, it’s not strong at all, but it’s there, almost accepted.” _

_ “What?!”  _ Shun thought.  _ “Lord Zarc approached her?”  _

_ “He seems to...can’t you feel it, Yuto? It’s faint but it’s there.”  _

_ “I…yeah, I do see it, she’s not Father’s yet, but he has plans for her, I feel it.” _

“Right,” Yuto nodded. “You’re right Serena, we should focus.” 

She glared but nodded, satisfied, the nagging feeling in the back of her head gone now. 

Reiji raised an eyebrow at the interaction between the four of them, feeling like he was out of the loop on some cosmic joke. But that would come for later. Stopping whatever his father was doing was the top priority at the moment. 

Reira gulped; the aura surrounding Yuto and Yugo now spread on Serena and Shun.. A shiver fell down her spine. Something wasn’t right…

Yet, why was she the only one who noticed this?

***************

Yoko didn’t realize how much she missed traveling the streets on her motorcycle until today.

After dropping Mieru off at a safe place between the Jungle and Ancient Ruin quadrants, Yoko sped off to the Volcano quadrant to watch her son duel. She was confident that Yuya was going to win, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t concerned over what was going to happen next.

The Ryozanpaku School of Dueling was notorious for having some of the most savage duelists leave its doors. And just because Yuya didn’t turn violent in his battle against Kachidoki, that didn’t necessarily mean that it wouldn’t happen again.

Yoko watched as her son was gang up by Makoto Takeda and Ken Umesugi of said school, gritting her teeth. These two made Kachidoki act like  _ Shingo _ with the way they ganged up on her son in obtaining Action Cards. If she had her way, she would personally beat them up with a steel pipe until they apologized...and then beat them up some more so that they learned their lesson.

Yuya was down to 200 lifepoints and just one turn away from losing. But before the effect damage of Makoto’s Fujin the Breakstorm Star could hit Yuya and deplete his lifepoints to zero, the boy was rescued by Dennis Macfield entering the duel...and being electrocuted due to the Battle Royale’s “intrusion penalty” for doing so.

(Somewhere Yuto’s eyes narrowed as he sensed Dennis come onto the scene)

_ What?! Dennis Macfield? _ Yoko gasped, eyes wide.  _ I didn’t know he was going to be in the finals too! And his dueling style reminds me of…of... _

Her eyes widened as Dennis’s image was briefly replaced by that of Yusho.  _ “Did...did Yusho teach him too? But ...how?”  _ her eyes narrowed at the LDS student from America. Something didn’t add up at all. 

She watched as Yuya and Dennis won the duel, thanks to Dennis’s ability to Xyz Summon and Yuya’s use of Black Mirror Xyz Dragon (the baby dragon chirped happily upon “playing” with Makoto and Ken) and Yuya ran off to another duel. Yoko kept her distance, something not settling in her in regards to Dennis’s dueling style.

Not to mention that he used  _ Xyz Summoning _ ...and Yusho Sakaki was last seen in  _ Heartland… _

Yoko grit her teeth as she texted something to Yuya.  _ “Yuya, did Yuto say anything about Dennis being in Heartland?” _

Seconds later, she got her reply.

_ “Yeah. Dennis was a street magician in Heartland and was really inspired by Yusho’s way of dueling, even becoming a student under him. Why do you ask?” _

Yoko narrowed her eyes; why would Dennis  _ coincidentally _ be in this dimension as a student of LDS? And better yet, with how long Shun and Yuto have been about -- and with Shun being in the tournament -- why didn’t Dennis make contact with these two sooner?

Better yet,  _ how the hell _ did Dennis even transport himself to this dimension? Unless…

“You! What are you doing here?” 

Yoko’s head snapped to the sound. Approaching her was a girl in a red jacket and brown shorts, a silver bracelet with a dark blue gem on her right wrist. She had indigo hair tied up with a yellow ribbon and fierce blue eyes. That face reminded her so much of... 

“Yuzu...no, Serena, right?” Yoko asked. “Of the Fusion Dimension?”

Serena froze, readying her Duel Disk. “Wh...how do you know that? Who are you?!”

“I’m Yoko Sakaki, mother of Yuya Sakaki, Yuto and Yugo,” Yoko began, shaking her head in disbelief. It was already bad enough to know of Yuto and Yugo looking similar to Yuya but seeing a copy of Yuzu changed a lot. She could hardly imagine Shuzo’s reaction to seeing another girl with his daughter’s face. “I’m on your side. I’m keeping an eye out if Yuri or the Obelisk Force arrives.”

“You are?” Serena asked. “Wait, you know about Yuri and Obelisk Force too? About the other dimensions? How?!”

“Let’s just say that I’m open-minded about these sorts of things. Now listen, do you happen to know anything about him?”

She pointed to Dennis Macfield currently engaging in a duel with Yuzu on the bridge. Yuzu was about to fall into the lava, had it not been for Performage Trapeze Magician saving her in the nick of time. 

Serena looked back at Yoko before shaking her head. “He’s an Xyz user right? Shouldn’t he be warned about Obelisk Force coming? Sora...you know about Sora right?”

Yoko grit her teeth, trying to push the sweet innocent boy who gobbled up her pancakces out of her mind like shoving an old car off a cliff. “Unfortunately.”

“He said there are refugees from the Xyz Dimension hiding here. This guy could be a target.”

“I would have to agree with you but,” Yoko sighed, shaking her head before looking back at Dennis and Yuzu shaking hands. Normally she’d be gushing at how handsome he was and how he dazzled her with his dueling; now she just wants to slam him against the wall and ask him some questions. “I just can’t shake the feeling that something is off about him.”

The two watched as Dennis and Yuzu shook hands, along with Yuzu handing Dennis a Pendulum card before Yoko continued. “So I think the best thing to do is -- hey! Serena, what are you -- “

As Serena approached the two, Yoko stopped. Something passed through her peripheral vision. Hopping off of her motorcycle, Yoko peered behind a large rock and raised an eyebrow.

“What the…” She whispered, watching several lights appear. Then, people started appearing from said light. From a glance, Yoko couldn’t distinguish one from the other because they all wore the same blue jacket, had similar builds and wore the same mask with the only variation being the color of the jewel in the center. But from what Yuto told her, this could only mean one thing.

“Obelisk Force…” Yoko whispered and cracked her knuckles. She wouldn’t be carded without putting on a fight and Serena would be there to protect Yuzu if everything went wrong. Her suspicions about Dennis would have to wait.

And besides, it’s been a while since she had a good brawl.

***************

In the Ancient Ruins section, Yuya ran towards one of the pillars, seeing Shun fighting students wearing knight costumes.  _ “They’re from the Knights of Duels Duel School” _ he remembered from what Nico Smiley said at the beginning of the tournament. Shun seemed more than capable of taking on all three of them, going by how he had Raid Raptor - Rise Falcon deal damage that knocked their lifepoints down to 0. 

“And stay down,” Shun muttered. As he was about to walk away, he sensed a presence and snarled. “Show yourself…”

Yuya gulped as he approached Shun. He heard stuff about him from Yuto, and remembered how he first appeared to Yuzu and mistaking her for Ruri...but this would’ve been the first time they actually met face-to-face.

Shun’s eyes widened a fraction when he saw who it was. “Prince Yuya,” he greeted, bowing.

Yuya blinked. “W...what did you just say?” he asked, hoping that there weren’t any cameras recording this. 

“Your name, my prince,” Shun answered. “You are Yuto’s…Prince Yuto’s brother, after all.”

Yuya’s eyes widened as he dragged Shun to a nearby pillar. “Dear gods...how much do you know about us? How much did Yuto tell you?!”  _ Father what is going on here?! _

Shun sighed, golden eyes darkening slightly. “Prince Yuto told me everything, more specifically your lord Father did,” he explained

_ “WHAT?!”  _ Yuya yelled.  _ “Father, Yuto...I’d like someone explain now please!”  _ he sounded just a bit hysterical even to his own ears.  _ “Why would you tell him?”  _

_ “Shun is ...my treasure now,”  _ Yuto answered.  _ “He had to know for his own protection.” _

Yuya shivered.  _ “Why do I have a foreboding feeling about that answer?”  _

_ “Be glad you didn’t actually see Yuto claim Shun as his treasure, Yuya.”  _ Yugo said. He was currently exploring the Iceberg section of the Action Field, or rather he was stuck in a duel against those smug Ryozanpaku duelists whom dueled Yuya earlier.  _ “Or sensed just what type of sick and depraved things are in his mind.” _

_ “...Huh?”  _ Yuya asked, tilting his head. 

_ “Oh stop it, it’s not  _ that  _ bad! We’re just having fun, he’s my treasure after all! And I get to do  _ anything  _ I want with him. Shun is mine now...Mineminemineminemineminemine~”  _

_ “ ...And I’m suddenly scared for my brother’s mental health. Yuto! Focus! That does  _ not  _ answer my questions. I’m now even  _ more  _ at a loss.”  _ Yuya stated. _ _

“Don’t worry,” a voice whispered behind Yuya’s ear. “I’ll explain everything.”

Yuya’s eyes widened as he felt a firm yet gentle grasp around his waist. “Y...Yuto?”

When Yuya turned to look at his brother’s face, he was puzzled. Yuto looked normal, even had a gentle smile on his lips as if he hadn’t just had a litany of possessiveness going through his head… was that what Yuya himself sounded like when he thought about Yuzu? Or when Yugo thought about Rin? 

Shun looked up, golden eyes glowing upon seeing his Prince. “My prince,” Shun whispered with a tender voice, filled with love and affection before leaning in over Yuya to give Yuto a kiss, which Yuto gladly returned. 

Yuya’s face turned red as he blushed at the display, the two Xyz users not caring who sees them.

_ “Yuto! Explanation now!!!!”  _ Yuya whined. Yuto rubbed Yuya’s side to pacify him, hugging him closer to his side. 

_ “Well, Shun’s mine and Father helped me keep him.”  _ Yuto replied, wishing to rest his claw against Shun’s mark here and now.

_ “I still don’t understand what that means and would YOU JUST BREATHE!” _ Heat was rising up making Yuya’s head spin. Yuya could feel his brother’s desire and lust like fireworks going off in his mind but now wasn’t the time! 

Eventually, Yuto broke the kiss and licked Shun’s lip. “Our bet’s still on, right?”.

“It is,” Shun stated. “Sakuragi has no right to call himself an Xyz user. I’m going to love laughing at seeing him fall.”

“Shame~ I really  _ did _ want to see you in that fantasy with the silk and veil and --”

_ I AM NOT HEARING THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!!!  _ Yuya screamed, covering his ears with his hands, blocking the flirting with an old song he used to focus when it came to dueling, trying to look past Shun and onto the details placed into this Action Field. He had to admit; a city-wide Action Duel for the finals was ingenious and lots of fun. He hoped that this could be used for future tournaments.

As Yuya did his best to ignore these sensations and the mental images of Shun adorned in silk and a veil, he saw something behind Shun. Three soldiers in blue military coats and Duel Disks racing down the highway…

And Sora following behind them.

Something about those four caused Yuya to grit his teeth. Sora for betraying his trust, and those soldiers for destroying Yuto and Shun’s home...

_ Those monsters!  _ Yuya growled.  _ He’s going to pay...he’s going to pay, they’re going to pay! The Fusion Dimension and every single resident in it are ALL GOING TO PAY!” _

The anger from Yuya snapped Yuto out of his lust filled haze, which in turn made Shun do it as well. Yuto followed his brother’s line of sight to see Sora and three Obelisk Force students 

_ “ _ Academia...” Yuto growled low and dangerous, his pupils subtly changing into slits. “They’re here…”

“And they have to pay!” Yuya replied, teeth lengthening into fangs, his nails growing into claws..

(Thankfully Reiji was too busy cutting off the feed of the Ancient Ruins to the stadium to notice the transformations)

_ “Yuya, Yuto... what’s going on?!”  _ Yugo questioned, having just defeated those Ryozanpaku students and now feeling the double force of both his younger brothers being this angry and wrathful. This blend of dark emotions hit him full force and this worried him. Yuto. he could understand...but Yuya was never  _ this _ angry before. Not even in the past when Yugo accidentally broke one of Yuya’s toys after crashing into them by flying around their bedroom was he ever this pissed off.

_ “It’s Obelisk Force,”  _ Yuto answered, voice cold and harsh like a blizzard.  _ “They arrived.” _

_ “They have? Shit! Gotta tell Yoko kaa-san now…”  _ Yugo muttered. His side of the link went silent for a few seconds.  _ “Damn it; she’s not picking up my calls! I’m gonna make sure she’s okay.” _

** _“Be careful Yugo,” _ ** Both his brothers warned as one, making him shiver, their voices were...priming with power...it reminded him so much of Father. 

“ _ ...R-right I will.” _

The boys’ eyes returned to the four Academia students, Yuya took Yuto’s hand in his and squeezed it tight to comfort him. 

Shun turned around and noticed the familiar cyan hair of Sora, understanding just what made his princes so furious. He could feel that fury too; how Sora betrayed Prince Yuya’s trust, how Obelisk Force was coming back to card them…

He wanted to do something...he had to do something.

“My prince,” said Shun. “Go after Obelisk Force. I’ll take care of Sora myself.”

Yuto exchanged a glance with Yuya who nodded. “Go,” Yuto commanded. “Make sure to make the little candy troll  _ pay  _ with his life.” 

Shun nodded, “As you command,” he answered, going after Sora.

As Shun chased towards his target, Obelisk Force was already making quick work on their targets: Ashley, Bram and Carl. The Knights of Duel were unprepared for the relentless attacks and had nothing to defend themselves when they became carded.

Yuya’s eyes widened. No...how... _ how could this be happening?! _

He could feel it. Yuto’s emotions of hurt, agony, pain, rage...images of people running in fear before they were transformed into cards...Ancient Gear monsters turning buildings and roads into rubble...and for what?! For some claim that this was all for a mighty utopia?! 

Was this all  _ fucking worth it?! _

Zarc watched his sons approach Obelisk Force, narrowing his eyes. His children’s minds were becoming clouded with rage and hatred. He grit his teeth, making sure not to amplify the anger in their hearts so that they transformed into mindless beasts wanting to tear into these foolish humans and become coated in their blood. It wasn’t worth it. 

He closed his eyes; they will have their vengeance later he was sure. Now Yuya and Yuto should defeat these three with a clearer mind than they have right now. 

“Academia! You’re gonna  _ burn  _ for all that you’ve done,” Yuto snarled, as both him and Yuya approached the Obelisk Force students activating their duel disks and snarling. But this threat didn’t do much to intimidate Obelisk Force.

“We won’t allow you to do what you want,” Yuya added, baring his fangs.

The three Obelisk students chuckled and smirked activating their duel disks as well. “That’s fine then, lets see what you can do,” the soldier with the red gem taunted.

Yuya and Yuto narrowed their eyes. They were going to have so much  _ fun _ showing Obelisk Force, and by extension Academia, just what they could do.

“DUEL!”

**Yuya: 4000**

**Yuto: 4000**

**Obelisk - Red: 4000**

**Obelisk - Green: 4000**

**Obelisk - Yellow: 4000**

***************

“Is that all you got?”

That’s what Yoko asked as she caught a punch from an Obelisk Force soldier with the red gem on his mask. She grinned before she delivered a swift knee to his stomach, sending him flying.

“Come on, you pansies!” she said, cracking her knuckles. “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time, so make it good!”

And back in the stadium, Nico Smiley gulped as everyone in the audience wondered what was going on just before the feed was cut off.

“Yoko-san?!” Ayu gasped.

“She’s...she’s a fighter?” Tatsuya added.

“She’s making me shiver all over!” Futoshi shuddered.

“Who...are you?” The Obelisk Force soldier with a green gem asked. Sure they were trained to fight off any and all combatants, but this was on another level.

“You can call me ‘Shooting Star Yoko’,” Yoko replied with a smirk while cracking her knuckles. “And I can call you ‘target practice’.

Just as Yoko was about to take a step forward, there was a loud explosion. She turned around; at the bridge where Serena, Dennis and Yuzu were at, now there was smoke covering them.

“What the --?” Yoko asked, just as her instincts told her a punch was coming her way. She moved her head to the side just in time before grabbing the punching arm and lifting the soldier over her head. The scream and  _ thud _ when he landed on his back was music to her ears.

“Come on, boys...if you’re all boys,” She stated, beckoning them with a hand. “You’re starting to  _ bore me _ !”

(If Zarc was there to watch this, he would honestly take Yoko into his arms and kiss her. She just kept surprising him more and more!)

“You, fall back now!”

Yoko turned around, seeing eight or nine duelists approach her. She looked at the one with the red and black diamond handkerchief sticking out of his pocket and raised her eyebrow. “Yuu Sakuragi, was it?”

“This is our fight,” Sakuragi explained, narrowing his eyes. “Get to safety.”

Yoko glanced at the three Obelisk Force soldiers gritting their teeth at her before looking at the ragtag bunch of duelists that were about to be sent to their doom. “Fine. I’ve gotta cool off anyway. Have fun, boys.”

She then returned to her motorcycle, slipped her helmet on and sped off, keeping an eye on things. Whoever threw that smoke-bomb meant that it was there to protect Yuzu and Serena from Obelisk Force. 

Now she needed to find them and make sure Yuzu and Serena were really protected. Dennis would, once again, have to wait.

Yoko rode across the bridge and noticed a missed call notification on her Duel Disk. From Yugo.

Returning the call and placing it on speaker, Yoko lifted the visor of her helmet to make it easier to talk. However, when all she got was the answering machine, she sighed.

“Yugo,” she said. “If you’re getting this, Obelisk Force is at the Volcano section. Get there. Now.”

Then she hung up, slapped the visor back on, and continued following her targets. 

***************

“I’ll take the first move,” said Yuto, drawing a card. “And I start by summoning The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves in Attack Mode!”

A black portal appeared in front of Yuto. Rising from it was ghost of blue flames with grey armor, large round pauldrons and massive metal gauntlets. It groaned like a creaky gate that lead to a haunted house. (LV 3, 1000 ATK)

“And that’s not all,” Yuto continued. “Now that I have a ‘Phantom Knights’ monster on the field, I can Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots!”

Emerging from another portal of shadows was a ghost in a ragged black cloak decorated with skulls on its hood. Its body was made of cyan flames with two eyes peering back at Obelisk Force And, just like its name stated, it also wore a pair of leather boots. (200 ATK)

“And now that I have two Level 3 monsters, I’ll use them to unleash the Overlay Network!” Yuto exclaimed.

The Overlay Network appeared in front of Yuto, spinning round and round as his two monsters turn into black plumes of fire and enter it. Yuya knew what Yuto was planning; after all, he saw this move for himself three days ago.

_ "Souls of knights who fell on the battlefield. Revive here and now, and become the light that breaks the darkness! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 3, Phantom Knight of Break Sword!" _

Then, in a pillar of azure flames, Yuto’s Xyz monster rose. It was a headless knight in streamline black armor on a mechanical horse, wielding a massive sword in his right hand, ready to carve Obelisk Force’s monsters into pieces. (2000 ATK)

“When Ragged Gloves becomes an Overlay Unit for a DARK Xyz Monster, he increases that monster’s attack by 1000!” Yuto added, ready for anything Obelisk Force could unleash.

The spirit of the Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves briefly materialized before a black aura manifested over the Xyz monster.. The Phantom Knights of Break Sword cackled, its attack score now at 3000. 

“I end my turn with two cards face-down,” said Yuto, slipping two more cards into his Duel Disk. “Your move.”

“Alright Yuto!” Yuya cheered as his brother Xyz summoned easily. But then he frowned as he heard the Obelisk Force cackling, all of them having an identical smirks, as if mocking both of them. Yuya’s eyes narrowed, he could feel his brother’s rage and weariness rise and intensify. Father watched with a solemn expression, quite letting both his sons fight. 

“That pathetic monster is nothing against us,” The one who had a green jewel on his mask said, Yuya and Yuto both wanted to rip it off of their smug faces. 

“We’ll show you what true power is. My turn!” The one with the red jewel yelled drawing his first card. 

Both brothers gritted their teeth, taking a ready fighting stance, their bodies were reacting as one without noticing. 

“First, I play the Spell Card Ancient Armageddon Unit,” Obelisk Force - Red announced.

A Continuous Spell Card appeared, showing some strange tank that towered like a birthday cake and covered in cannons instead of candles.

“And next, I summon to the field my Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!” 

Rising onto the field was a mechanical hound colored a military green color. It had sharp white bottom fangs and fierce white claws on each paw. (1000 ATK) 

“And when Ancient Gear Hunting Hound is summoned, I can inflict 600 points of damage! Go after the Xyz user! Hound Flame!”

The mouth of Ancient Gear Hunting Hound opened, revealing a cannon that fired a blast which struck Yuto’s Duel Disk. Yuto dropped to his knee, gritting his teeth.

**Yuto: 3400**

“It’s going to be fine,” said Yuya. “They can’t Fusion Summon without Polymerization...right?”

_ “That’s the bad part.”  _ Yuto replied.  _ “They can!” _

_ “Wait WHAT?!” _

“I activate my monster’s effect,” Obelisk Force - Red continued. “Once per turn, I can Fusion Summon an ‘Ancient Gear’ Fusion monster! So I fuse the Ancient Gear Hunting Hound on the field and the one in my hand!”

A second Ancient Gear Hunting Hound appeared before the two leapt into the air. Yuya’s eyes widened in fear; that must have been how Obelisk Force was able to decimate Heartland.

_ "Mechanical hounds who carry on the ancient spirits, flock together and become one with new power! Fusion Summon! Appear now! Level 5! Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!" _

With two howls, the new monster appeared: a larger two-headed version of Ancient Gear Hunting Hound. (1400 ATK)

“When Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound is summoned, I can place a ‘Gear Counter’ on any monster on the field. And there’s only one now.”

A gear appeared above Phantom Knights of Break Swords’ head.

“Then I attack! And if my Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound attacks a monster with a Gear Counter, that monster is automatically destroyed!”

“NO!” Yuya shouted.

But he could do nothing as both heads of the Fusion Monster clamped onto Yuto’s own, tearing it apart like the target was a steak.

“When Phantom Knights of Break Sword is destroyed, I get to Special Summon two ‘Phantom Knight’ monsters in my graveyard,” said Yuto. “And when they’re Special Summoned, I get to increase their levels by 1. So come back from the dead Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves and Silent Boots!”

The two Phantom Knights monsters rose onto the field, three small blue fireballs circling around them quickly becoming four. (LV: 3 -) 4 x2, Ragged Gloves: 500 DEF/Silent Boots: 1200 DEF)

_ He’s going to try and summon Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon on his next turn!  _ Yuya thought.  _ But how will he protect his monsters if he can’t activate Spell or Trap effects when Obelisk Force attacks? _

“So you’re trying to Xyz Summon again?” Obelisk - Red questioned. “That’s only if you get a next turn. The effect of my Ancient Armageddon Unit activates! Since your monster was destroyed, I can inflict damage to your lifepoints equal to that monster’s attack!”

_ Yuto’s monster had 3000 attack points!  _ Yuya gasped  _ That means! _

Yuto was hurled back by a large fireball launched from the Ancient Armageddon Unit Spell Card, flinging him back a few feet as he screamed in pain.

“YUTO!” Yuya screamed, seeing how low Yuto’s lifepoints were. 

**Yuto: 400**

“You...won’t…win!” Yuto grunted, rising to his feet. This was nothing compared to the agony of seeing his home destroyed. 

“We’ll see about that,” Obelisk Force - Red replied. “I end my turn.”

“My move!” Obelisk Force - Green shouted, drawing his card. “And I summon my Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!”

A second copy of the mechanical canine appeared, baring his fangs. (1000 ATK)

_ Oh no….!  _ Yuya thought.  _ He’ll use that monster’s effect on Yuto to --  _

“And you, tomato head!” Obelisk Force - Green snapped, pointing to Yuya. “You’re about to lose 600 points of damage!”

**Yuya: 3400**

“What?” asked Yuya, confused. “Why didn’t you do it on Yuto? You could’ve dropped his lifepoints all the way down to 0.”

“I could, but that means less fun for my partner here,” Obelisk Force - Green answered, pointing to Obelisk Force - Yellow. “It makes the hunt much more  _ fun _ .”

At the word ‘hunt’, Yuya’s eye twitched and the pupils shifted into slits. Not that Obelisk Force noticed this.

“Now, I activate my monster’s ability and fuse it and the two Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds in my hand!” Obelisk Force - Green continued.

Two more copies of Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, glowing red and blue, appeared with the one on the field burning with a yellow aura. They leapt into the air with a trio of howls.

_ "Mechanical hounds who carry on the ancient spirits, flock together and become one with new power! Fusion Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!" _

Then, two heads emerged on the sides of the on-field Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, the six eyes of the monster glowing white, electricity coursing through its body. (1800 ATK)

“Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound is allowed to attack three times per turn!” Obelisk Force - Green. “Now go and destroy that Xyz duelist’s monsters!“

Two of the heads of the monster began to glow with power as Yuya looked in fear. After this attack, he would be defenseless!

But before the monster could attack, a loud roar caused it to whimper in fear.

“What?!” Obelisk Force - Green shouted. “But how?!”

“My face-down card, Threatening Roar!” Yuto proclaimed, pointing to one of his face-down cards, flipping over to reveal Manticore of Darkness roaring at Behemoth the King of All Animals. “When I activate this card, you’re not allowed to attack this turn.”

“Tch,” Obelisk Force - Green spat out. “That won’t save you for long. I end my turn.”

“My move,” said Obelisk Force - Yellow, drawing his card. “And I play -- “

“Your Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, we know,” Yuya interrupted with a snarl.

Obelisk Force - Yellow frowned as he summoned his Ancient Gear Hunting Hound (1000 ATK) and wordlessly commanded it to fire its attack on Yuya. Yuya blocked the attack with his Duel Disk, gritting his teeth at how annoying these attacks, and the duelists, were starting to become.

**Yuya: 2800**

“And I’ll fuse my Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound now! Come forth, Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!” Obelisk Force - Yellow added, ignoring how both brothers were becoming irate.

Two heads emerged on the sides of Obelisk Force - Yellow’s Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, the Fusion Monster preparing to end the duel with its triple attack. (1800 ATK)

“Before you get any ideas,” said Yuto, looking at Obelisk Force - Red’s Ancient Armageddon Unit on the field. “I play my other face-down card, Mystical Space Typhoon!”

Yuto’s other face-down card flipped, and the well-known Quick-play Spell Card formed a blue tornado that struck the Ancient Armageddon Unit, shattering it into pieces.

“That won’t stop me!” Obelisk Force - Yellow snarled. “Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, attack The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves!”

The mechanical Cerberus opened its mouth as beams of blue, red and yellow light formed in its mouths. Then, the beams converged and struck Yuto’s monster, knocking it off of the field.

“When you destroyed my monster, this allows me to Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Fragile Armor from my hand,” said Yuto. “And his defenses are too high for your monster to penetrate!”

With a loud cackle, a set of navy blue armor with silver trim rose onto the field, held together by a large ball of azure flames. The remains of a green cape was draped upon its shoulders. (2000 DEF)

Obelisk Force - Yellow clenched his teeth. “Fine! Second attack, lock on The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots!”

Another beam struck Yuto’s second monster. Thankfully it wasn’t doing Piercing Damage else Yuto would’ve lost there and then.

“And third attack…” Obelisk Force - Yellow glanced at Yuya. “Attack him directly!”

_ NO! _ Yuto thought.

But he could do nothing but watch as Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound’s final attack flew straight towards Yuya, and Yuya was thrown back a few feet, rolling backwards until he landed on his back with a groan.

**Yuya: 1000**

“YUYA!” Yuto yelled at his brother in worry all while Obelisk Force laughed. That’s it, they were all going to pay!

“....is that all you got?” Yuya growled as he rose to his feet. “If that’s it, then fine! I draw!” 

Yuya drew a card, his pendulum glowing madly with a bright teal light that it was almost blinding. Upon seeing what he drew, a crooked grin formed on his face before he revealed two cards to Obelisk Force.

“I set the Pendulum Scale with my Scale 3 Dragon Mage of Determined Winds and Scale 8 Dragn Mage of Sorrowful Waters!” he shouted.

Yuya swiftly placed the two Pendulum Monsters onto his Duel Disk and the word PENDULUM lit up in its rainbow font. Then, rising onto the field were his two monsters with the numbers ‘3’ and ‘8’ shining beneath their feet.

Yuto looked at the two monsters Yuya had set in the Pendulum Zones, his eyes widened as he saw who these two resembled. The Dragon Mage of Sorrowful Waters looked exactly like him, with tears streaming down his face, fog surrounded his feet, black wings, and gnarled horns hidden under a silver cloak with black highlights. In his right hand was a black iron staff with three small silver crystal balls imbedded in it. His wings surrounded him, shielding him from some otherworldly horror like he was a child afraid of the monsters hiding under his bed.

The Dragon Mage of Determined Winds on the other hand, looked exactly like Yugo. His cloak was a shade of pale green, the colors resembling Clear Wings’ own wings along with black stripes all over, hiding the white ice-like horns beneath, and bone-white wings spread as if ready to attack, a white and black striped staff in his hand. 

Yuto’s breath hitched a bit. They were  _ beautiful _ .

_ “Swing, pendulum of my soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now my Level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Level 4 Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flames!”  _ Yuya chanted as a large version of his pendulum swung back and forth between his Dragon Mages.

Two bolts of lightning struck the field. The first one revealed Yuya’s faithful dragon, red and green eyes glowing. The second one was the more interesting one: A boy with a bright smile on his face with a red cloak trimmed with orange covering red horns, and matching red wings spread as if on display, with a sparkler in his hand that he was playing with, red and green sparks showering him. (Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 ATK/Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flames: 1500 ATK)

Yuto gasped softly when the mage that was on the field turned around to look at him over his shoulder with his mismatched eyes of green and red, like beautiful jewels. The mage looked just like Yuya, and Yuto could also see the hints of a silver circlet placed delicately over his forehead like he was a prince.

“I activate the effect of Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flames!” Yuya shouted. “When it’s summoned to the field while I have a Pendulum monster in play, I can inflict damage to your lifepoints equal to half of the attack of an Extra Deck monster you control! That means one of you is going to lose 700 lifepoints and the other two lose 900!”

Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flame let out a childish giggle before the joyful expression on his face swiftly morphed into an expression of crazed glee. The sparks from sparkler in his hand exploded and in its place was now a mighty wand, topped with three jewels of red blue and green. Cackling at how he was going to set the world on fire, he twirled the wand and aimed it at his targets. A tornado of flames struck the Obelisk Force soldiers, knocking them off of their feet.

**Obelisk - Red: 3300**

**Obelisk - Green: 3100**

**Obelisk - Yellow: 3100**

The fiery Dragon Mage bowed in a showmanship fashion as the other Dragon Mages applauded him. Jubilant Flames smiled, sending both of his brothers air kisses before he appeared beside Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon once more, scratching the dragon’s scales.

“Now Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon,” Yuya said. “Attack Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound! Spiral Strike Burst!”

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon unleashed a large blast of fire that easily disintegrated the target, shattering it into pieces.

**Obelisk - Red: 1100**

“Wait,” said Obelisk Force - Red. “I should’ve lost 1100 points on that last attack!”

“Any battle damage I inflict with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is doubled,” Yuya explained. “Which means that your lifepoints are low enough for my Dragon Mage to deplete!”

“What?!”

“Go Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flames! Attack directly!” 

With a sweep of his wand, Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flames unleashed a whip of flames that hit the Obelisk Force member directly, sending him flying until his back struck a pillar. 

**Obelisk - Red: 0**

“I end my turn there,” said Yuya. “Finish this off, Yuto!”

Yuto nodded his head, feeling his rage rising throughout the duel. Sparks of anger hit his bond with Yuya and ignited their emotions like a bonfire. The more they dueled the more painful emotions and memories from Heartland hit both, threatening to consume them! 

“I draw,” said Yuto, drawing his card. These bastards; they were all going to pay! “And I’ll start by banishing my Phantom Knights of Silent Boots to add a ‘Phantom Knight’s Spell or Trap Card from my deck to my hand.” 

The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots briefly appeared as a ghost before Yuto took a new card to his hand.

“Then, I summon The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm in Attack Mode!”

Appearing on the field was a knight’s helm with a red feathery plume. It ‘wore’ a red scarf around its ‘neck’ and a pair of metallic hands surrounded by blue fire. (1500 ATK)

“And again, with my two Level 4 monsters I shall unleash the Overlay Network!”

Another Overlay Network appeared in front of Yuto and his two loyal monsters entered it. Yuto’s eyes glowed lavender, feeling his dragon wanting to appear on the field to unleash vengeance.

_ "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" _

The dark violet dragon with purple wings and whip-like tail emerged, lightning crackling around its body. (2500 ATK)

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon took a glance at its Xyz sibling and roared in approval. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon roared back. Both Dragons’ roars sounded together, and electric shots went through Yuya and Yuto’s veins, all the memories and emotions, anger the hatred, it went from one brother to the other, the anger, the sadness, the hurt, the worry, the uncertainty, the need to protect, the need to defeat, the need to  ** _destroy. _ **

Inside their minds, a pendulum swung between them. They felt it, the bond intensifying, memory and thought becoming one. 

Both the brothers’ eyes snapped open, eyes glowing red, a black aura surrounded them both, their hair raising up, both brothers looked at the two remaining Oblesk Force soldiers and grinned, their appearance radiating with malice and murder. 

“Wh-what’s going on?” the one with a green jewel asked. 

Yuya giggled, doubling over, his entire body shook with it. The laugh...it was both sinister and childish like he was having too much fun stomping on an anthill. He raised his head, and stood as tall as Yuto, both boys sprouting identical manic smirks. The Obelisk Force soldiers began to back away...something was wrong. 

The Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flames looked between Odd Eyes and Dark Rebellion several times before he snapped his fingers as if finally getting what’s going on. Both the Dragon Mages of Sorrowful Waters and Determined Winds also looked at Yuya and Yuto, getting in on the little joke.. 

“It’s time to teach these scum a lesson isn’t that right, Yuto?” Yuya asked, grinning madly and licking his fangs in anticipation. 

Yuto’s smirk widened before picking a card from his hand -- the one he took from The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots’ effect -- and slamming it into the slot on his duel disk. “I play the Spell Card Phantom Knights’ Possession! This allows me to give my Xyz Monster the same level as another monster on the field!”

“Wait, did you say  _ Level _ ?!” Obelisk Force - Green gasped.

“That’s right!” It was Yuya who had said that in a rumbling voice. “So Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon changes from a Rank 4 to a Level 7 like Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!”

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon roared as a spectral image of its card appeared above its head. Its black border became orange, its black stars indicating its rank moved to the right and three more stars were added.

** _“It’s time to unleash the Overlay Network once more!” _ ** Both brothers yelled as one, extending their arms as if giving a command. 

The two dragons became black streams of light as they entered the Overlay Network that swirled around and around. Then, a burst of darkness and flame erupted and a roar could be heard throughout the area.

“What the?!” asked Reiji, noticing the strong Xyz Summoning energy appearing from the duel. Reira shivered in fear; she could tell something dark and dangerous was about to emerge.

“ ** _Dragon with dual colored eyes! Resurrect from the deep darkness and burn everything in the world with flames of anger! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 7! The blazing dragon called by calamity! Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon!” _ ** Both Yuya and Yuto had insanely gleeful grins on their faces, remembering how they channeled their anger to create this fearsome monster.

Rising onto the field was a dragon, red as blood and sharp pincers instead of fangs. Its wings and horns gave it the appearance of a demon, especially with its black talons and green eyes staring into its targets, just waiting to devour flesh and bone. (3000 ATK)

“Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon’s effect activates!” Yuto shouted. 

“By detaching an Overlay Unit, it can destroy as many cards you control -- ” Yuya carried on.

“And then gain 200 attack points per card destroyed!” Yuto finished. 

An Overlay Unit shattered as Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon opened its mouth before its wings stretched out, burning bright as the sun. Glowing tendrils struck the Fusion monsters, the two exploding into shrapnel. (3000 -) 3400 ATK)

“W-what?!” Obelisk Force - Gold whimpered.

“Now Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon,” Yuya commanded, extended his claws clear as day.  ** _“Direct Attack!”_ **

Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon roared, its wings glowing like that of a bonfire, ready to swallow its opponents whole and burn until nothing remained but ashes scattered in the wind.

“You’re not going to win,” Obelisk Force - Yellow stated, sweat falling down his forehead. “We...we have the cards needed to destroy you on of our next turn! You won’t win, Xyz Scum! YOU WON’T WIN!”

Yuto and Yuya turned to each other, tilting their heads in confusion. Then, they chuckled, and the Obelisk Force soldier took a step back before the two started laughing once again. Before suddenly turning to look at their opponents.

“There won’t  _ be  _ a next turn,” Yuya stated, that mad smirk still on his lips. 

“What do you mean?” Obelisk Force - Green asked. “You can only attack one of us!”

“If Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon is Xyz Summoned, he can attack twice!” Yuto explained with the same grin like his younger brother.

“Wait WHAT?!”

** _“GO! Odd Eyes Raging Dragon, end this duel! Destruction Burst of Rage!”_ **

The dragon roared, lifting its head to the sky as flames wrapped around its body. Yuya and Yuto grinned, the flames giving their faces an ominous glow that made them look like they were demons rising from the pits of Hell itself. The two brothers pointed at their targets and shouted,

** _“Off with their heads!” _ **

And the dragon complied, covering the entire area in a bonfire.

**Obelisk - Green/Yellow: 0**

***************

Mieru panted for breath. She had been searching throughout the entire city for three hours and there was  _ still  _ no sign of this boy, Yuri, her Darling wanted her to search for, going from street to street and through several corners as she raised her crystal apple over her head and in several directions. All she could see was static. 

“Why is my apple not working now?!” she whined. “Where could he be hiding?! WHERE ARE YOU HIDING YU -- GAH!”

She finally bumped into Noboru Gongenzaka, which stopped her in place.

“Watch where you’re going, you big oaf!” Mieru snarled. “You nearly made me drop my --”

She stopped when she looked at what Gongenzaka was staring at. It was the scene of both Yuya and Yuto dueling Obelisk Force. 

The two watched in horror as Yuya and Yuto started acting in scary synchronization, anger and blood lust. Shivers of fear went down their spines when Yuya summoned his new Pendulum monsters -- Dragon Mages that, if Mieru didn’t know better, looked similar to Yuya’s “brothers”!

There was also the two monsters Yuya Pendulum Summoned: Odd-Eyes, Mieru was familiar with. The Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flames? Not so much.

“D...darling?!” Mieru gasped, seeing the Dragon Mage grin with absolute glee at setting Obelisk Force on fire. The look on that monster’s face mirrored the one Yuya gave. “W...what’s going on?”

it wasn’t the Darkness surrounding Yuya that she feared. No, the Darkness was fine. It was the ruby blood mixed with stormy grey eyes and the manic smirk mirrored on both boys’ faces that made her feel like she wanted to run. Now.

“That’s the same look Yuya sported yesterday,” Gongenzaka muttered, recalling how Yuya’s duel with Kachidoki ended with Yuya unleashing that Xyz Dragon to chase the smug Ryozanpauk student around in a twisted game of “Fetch”. “And who’s that boy who looked similar to him?”

Gongenzaka briefly took his eyes off of the duel to take a look at Shun in the temple being knocked back by some attack.

“What? What’s Shun doing here?!” he asked.

Everything came to a halt once the two boys Xyz summoned… and it was terrifying. Swiftly making a win, the phrase “Off with their Heads!,” shouted by both boys made Gongenzaka even  _ more  _ worried for his friend. This was not like Yuya, not like him at all. He needed to find someway to help his friend snap out of it and return to normal. 

“Mieru,” Gongenzaka said, turning to the girl, his voice calm. “Get going. This isn’t safe.”

“I can’t!” Mieru exclaimed, looking at her crystal apple. “My darling is in danger...and there’s something I have to do!”

“What do you mean?” Gongenzaka asked. “What type of danger could Yuya be in right now?” 

***************

Yugo’s observations about Reiji’s ‘attack force’ could be summed up in two words.

Utterly  _ abysmal _ .

One by one, Obelisk Force’s hounds tore through each of their best monsters with a combination of Ancient Gear Double Hunting Hound and something called Ancient Armageddon Unit and then carding the defeated duelists with glee. Then, all that was left was the ringleader, Yuu Sakuragi alone with his Xyz monster..

As much as Yugo disliked how Sakuragi claimed how Shun would chicken out, he knew that stopping Obelisk Force was more important.

So without wasting any time, Yugo had stepped in beating the Obelisk Force by using their own tactics against them with Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and the Synchro Cracker card Rin gave him for his birthday a few months ago. Even when they were apart, she was still looking after him.

Upon seeing the defeated Obelisk Force soldiers, Yugo sighed. “That could’ve been worse.”

Yuu Sakuragi trembled in fear, seeing eight cards in front of him. This...this was not what he was expecting at all!

“Hey,” said Yugo, turning to the panicking Yuu Sakuragi. “You okay?”

What Sakuragi said next surprised him and Reiji.

“No...g...get away from me!” Sakuragi cried, running away, nearly stumbling on his feet all while screaming his head off.

(And Reiji couldn’t help but facepalm. This was last year’s  _ champion _ ?!)

Yugo sighed as he stared at all of the carded duelists scattered across the bridge.  _ “...Yuto?” _

_ “Yeah?” _

_ “Sakuragi bolted. I think you and Shun had a bet or something?” _

_ “Damn it! I really wanted that dance.”  _

_ “WHAT?!” _

_ “Do I wanna know?”  _ Yuya asked. 

_ “...Well...” _

_ “No!”  _ Yugo shouted.  _ “You know I wouldn’t even care what you and Shun do in private but please just  _ stop doing it infront of people!” 

_ “...” _

_ “Got nothing to say? Well, that should -- “ _

Yugo groaned as he felt more and more emotions through the link. Emotions of happiness and pride and desire…

...Oh...oh that was just swell.

_ “YUTO!!!!”  _ he yelled.  _ “What are you and Shun going through now?” _

_ “....Yugo...What did Yuto do to Shun?”  _ Yuya asked bewildered.

_ “...Are they making out again?” _

_ “You could say that…” _

_ “How...HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!” _

***************

In the Ancient Ruins, Sora and Shun were reaching their limits.

The duel was intense and both duelists were down to their last play. Sora at 300 lifepoints, Fluffal Mouse and Edge Imp Sabers on his side of the field while Shun was at 2100 lifepoints and had two copies of Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius, two copies of Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius and one Raidraptor - Force Strix on the field currently at 2100 ATK. He had one card in his hand left.

“This duel ends here,” sais Shun. “I play the Spell Card Rank-Up-Magic Skip Force and offer up Raidraptor - Force Strix to summon an Xyz Monster two ranks higher than it!”

“You’re going to summon Revolution Falcon again, huh?” Sora questioned, seeing a Spell Card with two Raidraptors logos, cyan and red, surrounded by lightning..

“No,” said Shun. “I’m summoning something else, something better. Now, go! Time to build the Overlay Network!”

The black Overlay Network emerged as the Raidraptor Xyz monster leapt into it. Lightning and fire erupted from its center as Shun smirked and Sora grit his teeth.

_ “Prideful falcon, prepare your arsenal to lead us all into a glorious revolution! Xyz Summon! Rank 6! Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon - Airraid!” _

Rising onto the field was Shun’s newest monster. It looked similar to Revolution Falcon except its body was a jet black color and it looked ready to bomb everything in sight. (2000 ATK)

“You just Xyz Summoned a weaker monster,” Sora laughed. “And you can’t attack this turn so what’s the point of going all this way to summon it?”

“Airraid’s effect activates!” said Shun. “When he’s Xyz Summoned, I can target one monster you control and destroy it! Then, I inflict damage to your lifepoints equal to that monster’s original attack. I shall destroy Edge Imp Sabers!”

_ No!  _ Sora thought, eyes wide.  _ I only have 300 lifepoints left! That means --  _

“Go my monster!” said Shun. “End this duel!”

Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon - Airraid flew as far as it could without hitting the ceiling before dropping three bombs onto Sora’s Edge Imp Sabers. Sora could do nothing except scream when smoke engulfed his field, he was knocked onto his back and his lifepoints dropped to 0.

“How...how is this possible?” Sora said as the holograms faded. “I lost  _ again _ to the same Xyz scum?!”

Shun descended on Sora before kicking him in the stomach. Sora coughed. Even after going some medical check-ups at Academia and all the training he had to go through, that still hurt.

“Let this be a warning, Sora Shiunin,” Shun said with a snarl. “I will  _ not _ show mercy to those who anger my prince or those he cares about.”

“P...Prince?” Sora repeated. Shun grabbed Sora by his ponytail before slamming his head onto the temple floor and stomping on it for good measure. Sora cried in pain as Shun pressed his boots on Sora’s head over and over again. 

“You have no right to talk about my Prince in such a manner!” Shun barked, eyes glowing. The mark on his back pulsed, causing him to shudder. “You must pay for your crimes against Yuya Sakaki.”

“What crimes?!” Sora spat out. “I’ve done nothing to him!”

“You lied to him, tricked him, took advantage of his heart and wormed yourself into his and his mother’s good graces. But all you were was a spy, Fusion Scum. You pretended to care about him, yet cared nothing for him.  _ That  _ is what you have to pay for.” 

“...” 

“Oh?” asked Shun. “You  _ did _ care for Yuya?”

“I...I told Yuya not to get involved in my affairs with Yuto,” Sora stated. “T...that’s caring right? And I taught Yuzu how to Fusion Summon, no strings attached! I was really proud of how she kicked Masumi’s ass! She did it like a pro!”

Shun grit his teeth. “You wouldn’t know what caring is if every single person in Academia was carded and your little school transformed into rubble! You don’t care about anyone except yourself! How would  _ you  _ like to be on the receiving end of every single person that was carded as part of your little  _ hunting game _ ?”

Shun lowered his Duel Disk and pressed a few buttons. Sora’s eyes widened as he struggled to stand up, but Shun pressing his boot on Sora’s head prevented him from moving. In just a few seconds, he was going to be turned into a card and no one would be there to save him!

But just as Shun was about to finish Sora off, he paused.

He felt something in his mind, something powerful, strong, rising into his mind lie and causing him to shiver as if he had been washed by the tide. It was a familiar feeling...He noticed his Prince’s mind was clouded, that he could realise. He ran and left Sora in order to find his prince, to know that he was alright. 

After scrambling down the steps of the temple, he rushed out to hear the roar of dragons that seemed to shake the earth. What he saw shocked him, sent electric shocks through his entire body, his jaw become unhinged, eyes widened, as he exhaled at the exhilarating scene. 

Prince Yuya and Yuto stood side by side facing three Obelisk Force soldiers. Yuya’s eyes redder than blood and Yuto’s eyes like a storm across the ocean at sunset, shining with fury, hatred, a need for destruction and chaos it radiated  ** _power_ ** , the will to kill and destroy all which stood in its way. 

Shun’s knees felt like they couldn’t support him much more. He shivered as the brothers spoke in unison. It was uncanny, raw, their voices rang in his ears as if a bomb has gone off. Then that smirk they both wore, their laughter of utter dominance at how they  _ destroyed _ their opponents. He swallowed, wanting to fall on his knees in praise and worship even more, he let out a shuddering breath...

** _“Off with their heads!” _ ** Both brothers commanded their dragon, who gave a mighty roar and decimated the Obelisk Force with no trouble. 

And the duel was over, his princes won with a beautiful blood-red dragon that seemed to radiate with power.  ** **

_ “So beautiful…”  _ Shun thought, seeing the fury and hatred surrounding Yuto and Yuya. His eyes grew wide at the fiery attack that defeated the last two Obelisk Force soldiers. They never stood a chance!  _ “MusthavemusthavemusthavemusthaveIwantwantwantwantwant….” _

Both princes still acted in unison, as they both snapped out of whatever they were in, clutching their heads for a few seconds, eyes half laid as they fought the pain. Shun marched towards them, heading straight to Yuto, a glint in his golden eyes. 

“What the -- “ Gongenzaka questioned. 

The chanting from Shun inside his mind, the feeling of lust need and desire were a little...overwhelming for the Xyz Prince, especially since he had just woken up from resonating with Yuya, not that he ever knew he could do  _ that.  _ Oh well, live and learn. But the emotions from Shun, oh they were  _ delicious _ . He had no defense against them; a shiver ran down his spine, and he didn’t notice when Shun had arrived by his side.

The Raidraptor user reached out in awe to his prince. “Sh-Shun? What is it?” Yuto questioned, confused. “Why are you so…?” 

And the older boy crushed their lips together. He broke the kiss only to look at Yuto as if the Xyz prince was his  _ everything _ . Yuto shivered in delight, when he saw the lust in Shun’s eyes. He wants that look on Shun’s face every time he looked at him, always…

“I saw you both, my prince,” he whispered huskily. “After defeating that Academia spy, I watched you and your brother unleash your wrath upon Obelisk Force. Both of your dragons forming a beast that embodies the rage of the people that were carded against those who destroyed our homes. The look in your eyes filled with blood lust...the way your lips curled in utter delight at the carnage...how you laughed at their pathetic attempts in trying to save themselves like trying to stop yourself from falling to your death! It was  _ breathtaking _ ….  _ intoxicating…”  _

Shun shivered. “Please my prince, I need you. Unleash that fury unto me, let me feel your passion and wrath. Let me  _ burn  _ with the ecstasy of your will made from the fires of hatred and rage!”

Grey eyes grew wide, lips parted as Yuto processed what Shun had just told him, he let out a shaky breath, before his hand shot out and grabbed Shun’s hair, pulling it hard making Shun gasp, and fall on his knees. 

_ “Yesyesyesyes please, pleasepleaseplease take me yes!” _ Shun’s mind chanted with more need and a wanton desire to be taken, ravished, owned. 

_ “MinemineminemineMINE!”  _ Yuto thought, pulling on Shun’s hair harder...much to the shock of the three people watching this.

“Y-Yuto…” said Yuya, surprised at what he saw. A shiver went down his spine as he felt his brother’s pleasure and anticipation, how pleased he was at Shun being so...submissive. This was  _ definitely  _ not how Shun acted in the past, not even around Yuto when they were alone. Let alone other people. 

“Yes?” Yuto purred and Yuya flinched. It reminded him of...it reminded him of those times Yuri and Father were in  _ that _ mood -- where one of them would put the siblings in an utter haze of pleasure and control. The boys would always gasp and writhe and lose sensation of everything except Father or Yuri. He doesn’t remember Yuto having that side to him before. 

“There...are people watching…” Yuya reminded him. While in normal circumstances Yuya would never deny his brother any sort of enjoyment or pleasure, he  _ really  _ didn’t think it was a good idea to do it in the middle of the streets. He shivered again as Yuto’s eyes turned to him, his mouth went dry, his cheeks red. 

“...So?” Yuto asked, looking at Shun’s flushed face, glassy golden eyes, how he was panting for breath. “Look at how  _ beautiful  _ he looks right now, Yuya. How could I resist?” A primal growl sounded before Yuto attacked Shun’s lips and the older boy moaned with no restraint.

(And in the Volcano section, Yugo was screaming his head off)

“Y-Yuto...” Yuya shivered. “When did you…”

Yuto could not hear anything, nor did he want to. All he focused on was giving Shun what he wanted. With every kiss, lick, or touch he gave, he could hear Shun beg and whine for moremoremoremore _ more _ !

“Tear me apart, my lord!” Shun pleaded, hands nearly ripping Yuto’s shirt in half. “Please, I wish it, I wish to see it again! Your rage, your wrath...but upon me and only me, your beloved treasure! Pleasepleasepleaseplease!!!”

(And in Reiji’s office, many of the female workers were doing their best not to show off their bleeding noses at the scene. Reira was hiding her face in Reiji’s scarf and Reiji just glared, that  _ really  _ did not seem anything like the Shun Kurosaki that he’d met before.) 

“What in the name of -- “ Gongenzaka questioned, covering Mieru’s eyes with a hand.

“What are those two doing?!” Mieru exclaimed, trying to move to the side.

“I, the man Gongenzaka, request that you do not ask,” Gongenzaka answered.

(This didn’t stop Mieru from getting her phone out to record everything; she had to contact Yoko on anything that happened to Yuya and his brothers)

Sora, who had hidden behind a pillar, looked in utter confusion. This Xyz scum was acting like a lovesick puppy in front of Yuto. Where was that duelist who utterly decimated him minutes ago?! Why was he calling Yuto his “prince”?

But that wasn’t what scared Sora the most. It was the fact that he saw how Yuya and Yuto looked so  _ terrifying _ against Obelisk Force with their dark auras and their Xyz monster. That... _ that _ was the power of Xyz Summoning?! 

And Yuya now looked confused more than horrified at the way _ Yuto _ was acting rather than Shun as the other boy’s eyes were on his look alike.

Sora shivered. It was best to go back to Academia for the time being; if this is what Yuya was like facing Obelisk Force, who knows what would’ve happened if the two made eye contact? 

A part of him froze; he didn’t mean to lose Yuya’s trust. He liked being friends with Yuya and Yuzu. He liked not having to worry about being part of Academia. He loved eating all those sweets and having Yoko make him breakfast whenever he entered the Sakaki residence...

But at the same time, there was that anger to go after those from the Xyz Dimension, for the glory of Academia! For the goal of unifying the dimensions! There were no need for friends, only success in the Professor’s goal and destroying the enemy!

Yet...why couldn’t he just get rid of the guilt in his heart?

….

Sora pressed a button on his Duel Disk and teleported himself back to Academia. He’d think about this later.

“Yuya,” Gongezaka began with a firm voice that was like a growl, and Yuya jumped out of his haze “Would you mind explaining why there is another boy with your face and why this boy is  _ making out with Shun Kurosaki _ ?!”

“WHAT?!” Mieru stated, pushing Gongenzaka’s hand to see exactly what he was saying. It was true. Yuto was currently roaming his hands over Shun, kissing him, licking him,  _ biting  _ him and Shun was gasping, pleading, begging with tears in his eyes at how good it felt that he was Yuto’s valuable treasure. At how he wanted Yuto to unleash this rage without a care in the world.

“Eeeehhh!!!!” she screamed as her face turned red. She could see something in her crystal apple though, as she raised it towards them...there was a symbol of some sort. It looked like a black coat of arms, a shield with a serpent biting its tail and crossed with a feather and spear. “What the -- “

“YUTO!!!!” Yuya yelled and rarely does he ever raise his voice in situations like these.

“Yuya!” Gongenzaka yelled, “Just what exactly is going on?” 

“Darling, can you explain what this symbol in my crystal apple?” asks Mieru, raising her crystal apple into the air.

Yuay began to splutter; he had no idea how to explain this. “Well I... I mean...I...” 

He shivered again. His link with Yuto was raw and his brother was out of control. Yuya felt lightheaded from the feedback he was getting. He shook his head trying to clear it, but it just kept on coming as if he was being washed down by waves and waves of undiluted pleasure. Yuya whimpered; he needed his brother to stop immediately before he lost it! 

_ “Papa!”  _ Yuya screamed, almost on the verge of collapsing from these feelings.

** _Yuto, that’s enough playing around! _ ** Zarc stated with a firm voice.

The Xyz prince froze immediately and stopped, panting for breath. At this point, he already had Shun’s scarf in his hands, and the coat was already pulled apart so he could tear into Shun’s shirt. Mieru’s face was so red that one could see it reflected on her crystal apple. 

Shun whimpered when Yuto stopped touching him, and tried to move closer. “M-my Prince,” he said, hand reaching out towards Yuto. “W...why did you stop?”

Yuto panted, trying to take control through all the lust clouding his mind. “Father commands us to, Shun,” And Shun immediately understood. Lord Zarc’s commands were absolute, never to be disobeyed. His body and mind still cried for Prince Yuto’s touch though, and he just needed more and more and more…. 

“I know, I know,” Yuto caressed Shun’s face tenderly, and Shun leaned into the touch with a soft smile on his face. “We will play later my darling, I promise.” 

“P...play…?!” Mieru repeated. “They’re gonna…play...la...”

At this point, Mieru had fainted. Thankfully, Gongenzaka had half a mind to snatch her crystal apple before it shattered, but he was also curious about that strange seal that she kept talking about.

Yuya regained his breath.  _ “Thank you Father,”  _ He looked back at Gongenzaka and Mieru. Just what he needed; his best friend and the girl with the huge crush on him seeing all of this and he himself had no clue just  _ what the fuck Yuto did with Shun _ ! If Father hadn’t stepped in Yuya was pretty sure he would have done something he regretted. 

“I, the man Gongenzaka, am waiting,” Gongenzaka stated, tapping one of his steel  _ getas _ with impatience. 

“Ok first I can say with all certinity  _ I  _ have no idea what the fuck is up,” Yuya grumbled. “But I’d fucking like an explanation now, Yuto!” He yelled at his lookalike with...annoyance. Gongenzaka blinked. 

“Wait -- “ he stated, raising an eyebrow. “How do you know that lookalike’s name is Yuto? Hold on; wasn’t he the one who attacked Shingo at the warehouse?”

“Yeah, yeah that was him,” Yuya answered with a sigh. “In his defense he really had no idea the repercussions of his actions. And Reiji is just an all around bastard anyway. He would’ve found any excuse to try to buy the school.” Yuya spat out, still angry at learning at how low the Akabas would stoop to get what they want.

(At this, Reiji narrowed his eyes. He was going to have a personal talk with Yuya after this was over)

At this point Yuto joined back to Yuto’s side, Shun right behind him. Yuya gestured wildly at him, as if he was yelling at Yuto whose face became red at how he acted.

_ “WHAT DID YOU DO?”  _ Yuya screamed.

_ “Well…”  _ Yuto began.

_ “Yuto, I swore for a moment I saw  _ Yuri  _ instead of you with how Shun was acting! I want some explanations RIGHT NOW!!!!!”  _

Shun on the other hand, calmly began to button his coat and tie his scarf back on as if none of this ever happened. (Although he was excited for when he and Yuto could be like that again)

“And another thing,” said Gongenzaka. “How did you learn to Xyz Summon like that?” Yuya was snapped out of his screaming at his older brother to look back at his best friend. The bonds between him and his siblings were making him more irritated especially with Yuto’s anger and lust and fear and Yugo's...everything else. His eyes were glowing red, the murderous aura surrounding him, incisors sharpened into fangs and nails morphed into talons…

And Shun was so close to asking Yuya to unleash it on him. So so close.

“That...is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, NOBORU GONGENZAKA!” Yuya roared with enough force to knock a lesser man off his feet. But Gongenzaka was not like that. He noticed the fangs and talons and looked with wide eyes at Yuya, wondering what had happened to his friend, he even swore his red eyes became slited...like a monster... 

“Yuya Sakaki…” Gongenzaka stated with a voice like ice and a grip on Mieru’s crystal apple that could’ve crushed it if he wasn’t careful. It was rare for anyone to call him by his first name like that, let alone  _ Yuya _ of all people. That’s it, something was wrong here.

Yuya panted, the aura and glow in his eyes dying out. “I...I’m sorry,” he tried to calm down, feeling like he was going to collapse. “Just everything...everything is…” Yuto’s claws ran in Yuya’s hair, caressing his red and green locks, making Yuya have some semblance of peace. They weren’t Father’s claws but they calmed him down all the same.

“There is a lot we are going to talk about,” Gongenzaka stated, kneeling down and placing the crystal apple in Mieru’s hands. “Unless you want me to knock some sense into you with a duel.” 

Yuya shook his head, and breathed out a sigh. “No, no, I can explain but..I need you to have an open mind Gongezaka. Trust me, even I myself didn’t believe it at first.” 

At this point, Mieru slowly woke up, hand on her head. “Darling...I just had this really crazy dream…about your brother and Shun making out…”

At the utterance of that word “Brother”, Gongenzaka narrowed his eyes. “Brother?” he repeated. 

Yuya sighed. “Brother, counterpart, one of three others. Recently I learned that we live in one of four dimensions, Standard, Xyz, Synchro and Fusion. No one knows why they were separated like that.”

(Well, that’s a lie but Yuya digresses.)

“In each world, we discovered Yuzu and I have counterparts. We’re not sure about why yet either. The dimensions never crossed over but everything changed when the Fusion Dimension, suddenly launched an invasion. The leader, Leo Akaba, waged a war on the Xyz Dimension where Yuto and Shun are from. Now they’re here to look for allies against the Fusion Dimension -- also known as Academia -- and are looking for a way to bring Shun’s sister back, Ruri who, like Yuto to me, is identical to Yuzu.” 

“...Is this true?” asked Gongenzaka, not sure which was the real Shun: the stoic warrior who fought off Sora or that...one who got turned on by whatever Yuya and this Yuto unleashed.

Shun nodded. but Yuto was the one who spoke up.

“We needed help.” he said. “And after I was attacked by Sora, who is also from Academia, Yuya offered it.” 

“We were grateful, but he was too kind. He made me and our other counterpart stay in his home, so we started to jokingly refer to ourselves as brothers.” Yuto looked down, still running his hand (claws) through Yuya’s hair. 

“ _ Other _ counterpart?” Gongenzaka repeated.

Yuya nodded. “Yugo from Synchro, and we’re looking for the fourth, Yuri, from Fusion. Yuri was the one who kidnapped Ruri and Yugo’s friend Rin, now he’s going after Yuzu too.”

“What? Yuzu?!”

“Yeah.”

“What are we waiting for? We have to get to her now!”

“No,” said Yuya. “There might be more of these soldiers coming. You and Shun have to stop them before they start carding the other duelists. Mieru, have you located Yuri yet?”

“I was trying to, then I bumped into Gongenzaka, then I saw you duel…and then this appeared!” said Mieru, pointing to that black seal that made Yuto and Shun uneasy. “What’s this all about?”

_ “...Yuto...explain what the hell you and Shun have been doing right now or I swear I’ll be plotting something deadly tonight!!!”  _ Yuya stated, growling at his brother. 

Yuto stuttered before running his claw in a certain place that made Yuya freeze and calm for a moment. Yuya’s eyes lowered half-way and it looked like he had just ‘deactivated’ -- not even aware of his surroundings, half-asleep. Yuya smiled a little, loving how his mind had just blanked out for a moment in this strange state of tranquility.

“It’s...it’s not important right now,” Yuto explained in a hurry. “Mieru, is Yuri here right now?”

Mieru looked into her crystal apple, eyes almost glowing .“I...I think he’s going to the Iceberg area,” Mieru answered. “And last I checked, Yuzu was in the Volcano section. Oh wait!” she looked at her crystal apple, the image of Yuri vanishing and now showing her Yuzu located at... “Yuzu’s also in the Iceberg area!”

_ “That’s bad.”  _ Yuto thought. Most likely Yuzu somehow traveled there all by herself. And without backup, who knows what that bracelet of hers would do to Yuri! 

“Right, we need to confront Yuri,” Yuto removed his hand from Yuya’s hair before cupping his chin gently, which made him flinch and snap out of the nice haze he was in, and shook his head to clear it.

(Reiji’s eyes narrowed at that interaction, Gongenzaka and Mieru probably did not fail to notice Yuya’s reactions either)

“We have to trust Serena and Yuzu to get out of trouble themselves while Yugo, Yuya and I confront Yuri,” said Yuto. “Come on Yuya, Mieru. Let’s go.”

_ “Never do that while we’re in public, Yuto!”  _ Yuya screamed at his brother and was about to actually scream out loud at him, before taking several breaths to calm down. 

_ “Ok, I’m sorry, I just wanted you to calm down.” _

_ “...Just so you know, you are going to  _ pay  _ for this.” _

Yuto gulped. Yuya’s powers were creating illusions be it in the real world or just in a certain person’s mind...He’s probably screwed if Yuya stays angry at him.

…

...Scratch the probably, Yuto was  _ definitely _ screwed once he revealed the truth.

***************

“W...what?!” Yuzu gasped under the setting sun. “That’s what’s going on? That’s why they’re here?!”

Serena nodded her head, looking at her Standard counterpart with pity. She took a glance at Tsukikage standing there, not once turning around to question or comment about her story before continuing. “If we don’t do something soon, the two of us and Rin and Ruri are going to end up…”

She let the sentence hang in the air as Yuzu dropped to her knees, tears in her eyes. 

“But why?” asked Yuzu. “Why did Yuto and Shun have to go through this? Why would someone do such a thing?!”

“I’m not sure myself,” Serena answered. “All we can do is fight against him,” She firmly placed her hands on Yuzu’s shoulder, shaking her, and make her look Serena in the eye. “We have to stay strong, got it? We need to survive, and fight with everything we got.” 

“Dueling...dueling is supposed to be about having fun and making people smile…” Yuzu sniffled. “Why would someone preach that dueling is used to  _ destroy people _ ?”

Looking at her own counterpart crying like that didn’t set well with Serena at all. All she could do was hug Yuzu close before looking her in the eyes once again. “We can’t change what happened, but we can fight it, Yuzu. We  _ have  _ to. Got it? Pull yourself together and get ready because the only choice we have is to fight.” 

Yuzu wiped the last of her tears away, remembering what Yuya said to her before the Battle Royale began. That it was time for the world to know what Yuzu Hiragi was capable of.

“Good,” said Serena, looking around. The hairs on the back of her hair stood up. “Because we’re gonna be fighting very soon.”

Dennis watched this with a frown on his face. Bad enough seeing Serena so soon, but now she was spouting out nonsense about the Professor’s plan?

This certainly wouldn’t do at all.

Suddenly, a violet light made him turn. When it died down, he could only smile at who stood in front of him.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “About time  _ you _ showed up, Yuri.”

“Dennis, update?” Yuri asked curtly.

Dennis pointed to Yuzu and Serena about to confront three Obelisk Force soldiers. “It seems as we’ll be killing two birds with one stone soon enough. Be careful though; Serena isn’t the only girl who can Fusion Summon.”

“Oh~ that’s just fine,” Yuri smirked. “Soon, it will be time for me to play~”

Dennis chuckled, eyes darting back and forth. While he never really met Yuri, he heard all the rumors of the Professor’s watchdog. How no one has ever won a victory over Yuri; how he slaughtered his opponents without a care in the world. Dennis was very glad he was on “good terms” with him else he’d be also on the list of people who have been critically injured by Yuri’s sadism.

“Well, save me a seat then,” he said. “I do  _ love _ a good show.”

And while the two conversed, neither of them paid attention to the biker with a white coat recording this on her phone, her hand trembling at what she saw and heard.

_ That son of a bitch!  _ Yoko snarled. She was gonna kill Dennis herself, and she would not allow Zarc to step in.  _ He’s not from Standard or Xyz at all...that no-good kiss-up is from FUSION! _

She had half a mind to upload the video so that  _ everyone _ knew the truth about Dennis, exposing him for the person he truly was. He was no better than Sora; using his looks to make people turn the other cheek, only to backstab everyone who cared for him when their defenses were down.

She looked at the ‘Share’ button...just one press of it and Dennis’s cover would be blown.

…

…

...No.

There were several holes in this plan, and as Yoko took a deep breath, she began to list them.

First, there was the fact that there were only a few people who would understand what this conversation was about. Only she, Yuya, Yugo, Yuto, Shun, Serena, Reiji and whoever else is in the know about the Four Dimensions and the attack on Heartland.

Second, there was the fact that Yuri’s face looked similar to Yuya’s. If she uploaded it, people would question why Yuya Sakaki was dressed up in some military getup and might not understand the idea of there being other dimensions.

And third, uploading this clip would probably put her sons in danger. Obelisk Force could come and hunt her down, card her up, or even go after her boys!

And after everything she has learned yesterday, that is something she  _ would not allow! _

Yoko saved the recording and sent a message to Yugo ( _ “Yuri’s in the Iceberg section. Come here now.”) _ . Once it was sent, she watched as Serena and Yuzu were locked into battle, praying that these girls would make it out okay.

But nothing could prepare her for what happened next. 

**************

Serena glared at the three grinning Obelisk Force soldiers and their Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds on the field, while Yuzu had Bloom Diva on hers. And Serena had already tried Fusion Summoning Lunalight Cat Dancer with Lunalight Fusion, but Obelisk Force was prepared with a De-Fusion, splitting her back into Lunalight Blue Cat and Lunalight Purple Butterfly.

And with Tsukikage gone to who knows where, there was no way to get back-up in time. 

_ This is bad... _ Serena thought. From her observation of Yuzu’s duel against Dennis, Bloom Diva would be able to destroy those Hunting Hounds with ease. But Serena? No, she had  _ nothing  _ she could use to defend herself.

_ “I see you as someone who can fight beside dragons themselves.” _

Serena’s eyes widened as she recalled that phrase from the night before, that man in the cloak…

_ “Time to play the card, little Luna.”  _

She heard his voice again in her head and then remembred his gift. Yes, why shouldn't she use it? It was her monster now; it didn’t matter where she got it. She looked at the cards in her hand and made her decision.

“You may have stopped my favorite Fusion monster, but I still have a trick up my sleeve!” said Serena. “I play Polymerization and fuse Lunalight Blue Cat and Lunalight Purple Butterfly once more!”

“Big deal,” Obelisk Force - Red huffed. “We know all your moves, Serena. There’s nothing you can use to stop us.”

At that, Serena smirked and her eyes…somehow flickered to the color of gold.

Yet Yuzu was the only one who noticed this.

“Let me prove you  _ wrong _ ,” Serena hissed.

As her two monsters turned into beams of cyan and purple light, the Polymerization portal behind them suddenly changed color. Instead of soothing shades of blue, it changed into a red like a setting sun. Serena smirked as she clasped her hands in front of her.

_ “Dragon that bathes in the crimson glow of the night, come forth and let us turn the tide of battle into a glorious victory! Fusion Summon! Come fourth Blood Moon Fusion Dragon!”  _

From the fusion summon a dragon appears, black scales with red stripes like scars all over its body, a pair of horns that looked like a crescent moon and topped with a crown of a large red circle and matching red eyes that seemed to cover the field with a light as if everything was bleeding. Its wings stretched out, black with a pale yellow membrane that seemed to sparkle as if sprinkled with stardust. (1800 ATK)

Serena’s eyes widened as she looked at the dragon the she had summoned. It looked powerful, glorious, terrifying. She smirked looking at Obelisk Force, how their hounds looked like they wanted to run away with their tails between their legs.

“Surprised?” she asked. “Oh well, looks like the cat’s out of the bag now.” 

A shock formed in the back of Yuri’s head as soon as the new dragon was summoned. Something felt off, and since when did Serena use anything but Lunalights, let alone a Dark Attribute Dragon like this one? Something just didn’t add up. Yoko also had the same realization too.

“Now then!” Serena announced, her eyes turning into a very familiar shade of gold. “ _ The fun has just begun _ !”

**************

  
  


**Dragon Mage of Jubilant Flames/ FIRE / LV 4 / Spellcaster / Pendulum / Effect /1500 ATK / 1200 DEF/ Scale 1**

Pendulum Effect:  _ To be revealed _

Monster Effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned while you control a face-up Pendulum monster, target one monster your opponent controls that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. Inflict damage equal to half of that monster’s ATK.

**************

**Dragon Mage of Sorrowful Waters/ WATER / LV 4 / Spellcaster / Pendulum / Effect / 1000 ATK / 1800 DEF / Scale 8 **

Pendulum Effect:  _ To be revealed _

Monster Effect:  _ To be revealed _

**************

**Dragon Mage of Resolved Winds/ WIND / LV 4 / Spellcaster / Pendulum / Effect / 1800 ATK/ 1000 DEF / Scale 3 **

Pendulum Effect:  _ To be revealed _

Monster Effect:  _ To be revealed _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Dragon Mages and Blood Moon Fusions Dragon are OC cards that belong to both me and Green_Phantom_Queen


	8. Chapter 6 (Part 2): Lily of The Valley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yuri starts going insane ala Black Swan, Teppei learns not to mess with BEST MOM EVER and the Yu-boys are finally reunited as one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back with part 2 I hope you liked part one guys...
> 
> Warnings: Intense emotional Yuri and almost self Harm.

Serena stood in the icy wasteland with a smirk on her lips, and a confident look on her face. Her duel disk was raised to her chest and she was ready for a  _ bloodbath _ .

Blood Moon Fusion Dragon stood beside Serena, proud and protective of the young girl, and Serena could feel herself being filled with power. Her dragon unleashed its powerful wings that glowed with a bright yellow aura like moonlight.

_ Where did she get a card like that?  _ Yuzu thought. This was like Yuya and Black Mirror Xyz Dragon... 

“W-what the hell is that thing?!” The Obelisk Force soldier with the green gem, asked resisting the desire to run away. His own legs were trembling at the sight of the scarred black and red dragon. Serena grinned at the fear she inspired

“Oh what’s wrong? You boys don’t like my new pet?” she asked mockingly before patting the dragon’s scaly side. Blood Moon Fusion Dragon purred, even crouching down so Serena could ride on his back which made Serena even more giddy as she actually climbed over it, standing proudly on top of its head, hands grasping its horns to keep her stable.

“Now then,” she said, head snapping back to look at Obelisk Force with a grin on her face. “Let’s continue, shall we?” 

Blood Moon Fusion Dragon grinned, exposing his sword-like teeth that was ready to grind the Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds into powder.

“Blood Moon Fusion Dragon’s effect activates,” Serena stated. “Once per turn I can take an opponent's monster summoned from the Extra Deck and use it as an equip spell for my dragon! And then, Blood Moon Fusion Dragon gains half its attack points along with its special ability. So let’s see what I want...oh, I know!” 

Blood Moon Fusion Dragon swooped down and crushed the Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound that belonged to Obelisk Force - Green, before its scattered parts glowed and attached themselves like a suit of armor to the dragon. The three heads of the mechanical Cerberus, in particular, became the breastplate for Serena’s monster. (1800 -) 2700 ATK)

“So that means that my Blood Moon Fusion Dragon can attack three times whenever it battles, and you can’t activate any Spell or Trap cards when it does,” Serena smirked. She always loved using the opponent’s strategies against them!

“Even with the attack boost, you’ll only be making a dent in our lifepoints,” Obelisk Force - Red pointed out.

“Oh really?” said Serena, revealing a card in her hand. “Not even if I equip my dragon with  _ Fusion Weapon? _ ”

There was a gasp as Serena played her card, revealing Dark Flare Knight obtaining a weapon to defend himself.

“This nifty spell gives any Level 6 or lower Fusion monster equipped to it an additional 1500 attack and defense points. And what do you know? My dragon is Level 6!”

The image of Ritual Weapon hovered above the dragon’s head for a moment before it unleashed a mighty roar that caused the Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds to back away in terror. (2700/2700 -) 4200/4200)

“All right, my lovely pet,” Serena grinned. “Ready to play Fetch?” The dragon roared in response to his mistress, fangs bared and ready to strike. 

The three Obelisks Force soldiers looked up at the dragon and Serena in fear and horror. They weren’t sure what was more terrifying, the dragon itself or Serena with her terrifying grin. 

“First attack,” Serena commanded. “Attack Greenie directly! Red Lunar Eruption!”

Blood Moon Fusion Dragon’s body became covered in red light as if burning hot before the red aura was converted into a large red beam of light the size of a medicine ball. It fired the attack straight at Obelisk Force - Green, dropping his lifepoints to 0.

“Second attack! Go after Red Bull clear as day!”

A second attack formed, striking Obelisk Force - Red’s Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound and knocking his lifepoints down to 1600.

“Third attack! Massacre Goldilocks' little mutt!”

With a malicious grin, the Fusion Dragon complied in firing one more attack at the only monster on the opponent’s side of the field. Obelisk Force - Gold was whimpering like a dog when the Hunting Hound exploded into shrapnel and his lifepoints also dropped to 1600 as well.

The three elite students of Academia looked in fear. They were so overconfident about winning against these two girls that none of them planned to play any face-down cards to defend themselves.

“Take it away, Yuzu!” Serena said with a grin.

“R...right,” said Yuzu. “Since I control a ‘Melodious’ monster, I get to Special Summon Sonata the Melodious Diva from my hand!”

Rising onto the field was the green haired Melodious Diva in a blue dress and matching cravat. She glared at Obelisk Force, blue bangs covering one of her eyes. (1200 ATK)

“And when Sonata is Special Summoned, all Fairy-type monsters I control gain an additional 500 attack and defense points!”

Sonata clasped her hands in prayer and sung a series of notes that let light shine above her and Bloom Diva, raising their stats. (Sonata: 1200/1000 -> 1700/1500, Bloom Diva: 1000/1000 -> 1500/1500 ATK)

“Go! Sonata, attack the one with the gold gem! And, Bloom Diva you’re next on the one with the red gem! Wrecking Refrain!” 

Both Melodious monsters rose to the air and began to sing in harmony, unleashing their attacks at the two remaining Obelisk Force members with a wave of sound that knocked them back into a wall of ice.

“Wait a sec,” said Serena, doing the math. “If you attack directly, one of them will still have 100 lifepoints. That means they have a chance to -- HEY! Where are you going?!”

Yuzu practically skated across the ice as she ran towards an Action Card sticking out from a pile of snow. She leapt, sliding on her stomach like a penguin before she snatched the card. 

“I play my Action Card - Winter’s Cry!” she said. “And now you lose an additional 500 lifepoints!”

“Wait what?!” Serena exclaimed, seeing the ‘A’ on the back of the card. “You can do that?”

“It’s an Action Duel,” Yuzu explained, playing her card. “Wait...you don’t have Action Duels where you come from?”

“...No. Duels are all about destroying your opponent, not about making a show out of it.”

Yuzu said nothing as the image of the card, depicting three snowflakes glowing with a rainbow aura, fired three large snowflakes like shuriken at Obelisk Force - Yellow . Obelisk Force - Red was already down for the count, and Bloom Diva’s attack combined with the Action Card caused Obelisk Force - Yellow to fly off and join his defeated partners in hitting an icy wall behind them.

“We did it!” Yuzu cheered, raising her hand in the air towards Serena. Serena blinked; she never ever shared anything like that before.

Not sure what to do, Blood Moon Fusion Dragon dipped his head low, sniffed Yuzu’s hand...and then licked it. Yuzu looked in alarm and stepped back as if she had been electrocuted. Blood Moon Fusion Dragon whimpered slightly, and it looked like it might cry.

“Was that the right thing to do?” Serena asked, slightly unsure. 

Yuzu blinked before looking back at Serena and then her dragon who, like Black Mirror Xyz Dragon seemed to be friendly despite his looks, at least to her and Serena. And Serena did seem genuinely confused over the entire situation. Nevertheless, the pink haired girl smiled, petting Blood Moon with a gentle hand. 

“You’ve...never High Fived before?” she asked Serena. Was that not a thing in the Fusion Dimension? 

“Never,” Serena answered, voice dropped low. “I...never really had anyone to ‘high five’ with, let alone a friend. Friendship isn’t really a thing at Academia. It’s all about power, being the best, winning...one single lost and it would destroy you. Make you look weak, pathetic,  _ useless _ .”

(Upon hearing that, Yoko couldn’t help but recall a song that could relate to the philosophy of Akabastard’s pet project. Something about “feeling like the worst thus always acting like they’re the best”)

“What?!” Yuzu asked horrified. “That’s... that’s awful! Absolutely awful,” she looked unsure before trying to climb Blood Moon, which the dragon allowed. With a hesitant step, Yuzu found herself on the dragon’s broad back before she stepped up the dragon’s neck like a ladder and looked Serena in the eye. “You don’t have to worry anymore. I’ll be your friend from now on!” She said with a smile taking Serena’s hands in hers. 

Serena blinked and two fat tears fell down her cheeks. “R-really?” she asked, still unsure. Yuzu gave her a confident nod, grinning. Serena’s smile became bigger as she squeezed Yuzu’s hand and hugged her again. “T...thank you, Yuzu…” 

The Dragon groaned under them, and Serena pet his head affectionately. “Oh don’t worry, I still love you very much, Blood Moon. Thank you for your help.”

Yuzu tilted her head. “He really does seem like a good dragon..” she said out loud. (And for a moment, she thought she could hear him purr in reply).

Both girls got off of the dragon by sliding down its back like they were on a playground slide (something that Serena never had an opportunity to do, but she couldn’t help but want to do that again next time). Blood Moon looked so happy to see his mistress act so cheerful. It was just so infectious.

“Good boy~” Serena cooed. “Who’s a good dragon? You are, you are~!”

The dragon was purring in her ear, happy to have served so well, and that she had liked him in return. Serena deactivated her Duel disk along with Yuzu, before turning back to the three Obelisk force members and approaching them with a confident step. 

“Now then,” said Serena, a hand on her hip. “Before you all go back to Professor Akaba, tails tucked between your legs and all, I’d like you to give him a message for me.”

The three of them flinched back but tried to remain confident, unfortunately for them Red’s voice came out shaking when he asked. “Oh Y-yeah? And what’s t-that?” 

Serena grinned and her eyes flickered gold. “Tell Professor Akaba that I’m no longer part of Academia,” she said, removing her coat and letting it fall onto the icy ground. She stomped her foot on it and added, “And if he wants me back then he’s gonna have to do it himself. Now get out of my sight before I summoned my dragon again to  _ feast upon your flesh _ !”

Lightning flashed behind Serena at the declaration, and the Obelisk Force soldiers immediately teleported out of there. All that was left was Serena and Yuzu, exhausted but victorious.

“That was…” Yuzu couldn’t find the words for it. So she only said one word. “Unexpected.”

And from where she hid, along with her recording Serena’s warning, Yoko couldn’t help but agree. First Yuya with Black Mirror Xyz Dragon, and now Serena with a brand new  _ Fusion  _ Dragon? And  _ both _ of them acting very similar in terrifying their opponents while having their dragons attack like they were playing a game?

Horror genre checkpoint: unexpected powers coming from a dark force always equals bad news. Step 1: First use of the power. Step 2: Continued use of said power. Step 3: Tolerance. Step 4: Dependence. Step 5: Full addiction. Step 6: Possession/Corruption. Step 7: Death or a fate so bad that death seemed like mercy.

And with Serena so naive about social norms, never having a friend or family and always striving to obtain the attention of that  _ bastard _ of a human being, she was even  _ more _ susceptible to Zarc’s dark influence. Staying with Yuzu might keep his influence away or at least lessen it (but for how long, Yoko wasn’t sure).

At this point, if she found Yuzu obtained a dragon of her own, Yoko would definitely have a talk with the goddamn Lord of Darkness himself. She really had no idea what Zarc was planning, but she knew she didn’t want him corrupting the mind of a child. Corrupting Yuya, Yuto, and Yugo she wanted even  _ less  _ after seeing how much ‘control’ Zarc had on them first-hand.

Back with Yuri, he himself had no trouble with the idea of talking and cooing at their own dragons, after all he does do that with Starving Venom (albeit less treating him like a pet)...Serena never seemed like the type to do it, all her monsters were from the Lunalight archetype and she  _ always  _ used Lunalight Cat Dancer to win her duels. So this new development again was mind boggling…

Well it wasn’t his job to deal with this; his job was to get Serena and Yuzu back to the Professor so he really shouldn’t care. 

But something about the dragon just kept...nagging at him, and he couldn’t place it. 

Dennis, on the other hand, was shivering. And it wasn’t from the cold. That brand new dragon was goddamn  _ terrifying _ , and Serena was acting like it was some cute  _ pet _ ? Where did she even get a monster like that? He was suddenly very grateful she didn’t duel him with something like that up her sleeve. Not to mention her new attitude is even scarier than her dragon... 

“So…” Dennis began, pushing his pointer fingers together like the corners of a tent. “How are we going to confront them?”

Yuri looked at Dennis and raised a pink eyebrow, bemused. “‘We’?”

“Yeah...we…” Dennis began. “I mean, because there’s two of us and two of them and we need to bring  _ both _ back to the Professor or else he’ll have our heads....”

Yuri chucked, baring his fangs. “Oh how cute of you to think I need  _ you  _ to get these two. No, I can do it on my own. You...just go be useful somewhere else like in Heartland or whatever.”

(Yoko’s eye twitched. So Dennis, from Academia, was in Heartland for whatever reason...perhaps he had the same role as Sora in scouting out the dimension and searching for Yuzu’s Xyz Counterpart? Ruri, was it?)

“Um...r-right…” he said still terrified of Yuri even after Serena’s display of brutal dueling. “S...see you later…”

Yoko wanted to go chase after Dennis right there and then, but if she did so then Serena and Yuzu would be defenseless. So she decided to stay and keep an eye on when Yuri would strike them. She tilted her head, seeing Yuri having a strange look in his eyes and holding a card of a Fusion Monster (a dragon, to be precise...which was more than enough proof for her that Yuri really  _ was  _ one of Zarc’s sons). She wondered what was going on inside his mind right now, seeing as she never bothered to ask just  _ what _ was going on with Yuri this morning.

Yuri was...confused at best. The sight of Serena and Yuzu Hiragi hugging each other on that dragon stirred something inside his heart that felt too good that it started to hurt. He thought he saw himself and a boy with red and green hair and red eyes on top of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, laughing and hugging each other as if they were the kings of the world…

But that couldn’t be right, it should only be Yuri standing tall. Alone, without anyone else besides him. That’s how it’s always been. He didn’t need anyone: no friends, no family...just  _ himself _ . 

Yet why did it feel good to see him smiling with someone else by his side? Why did his heart flutter upon seeing those  _ girls _ get so close? Why did he desire having that companionship?! And with a boy that he saw in his dreams nonetheless?!

Why, why, why, why, wh- -

Suddenly, Yuri noticed a giant sleigh approaching him...

****************

“Serena...where did you get that dragon?” Yuzu asked once the three Obelisk members had left in a hurry looking like they wanted to fall on their knees and beg to not be eaten alive.

Serena blinked. “Well, I…”

“ _ Lie” _ A voice said inside her mind. 

_ “Huh?”  _ Serena thought, not sure where that voice was coming from. 

_ “She would think that you were insane if you told her about a man coming into your room at night handing you cards. So lie, little luna. Just this once.” _

“I’ve, uh always had it,” Serena hastily answered. “I’m from the Fusion Dimension. remember? Everyone has fusion cards; finding one isn’t that hard or complicated.”

“If that’s the case, why did those ‘Obelisk Force’ guys look like they never saw it before?” 

“That’s because I’ve never used it before. I used Lunalight Cat Dancer so Blood Moon was quite a shock to them,”  _ That wasn’t untrue… _

“It sounds like you were quite friendly with that dragon,” Yuzu pointed out. When she saw Serena happily ride the dragon into battle, all she could see Yuya on the head of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Or better yet, the way Serena interacted with that dragon was like Yuya on  _ Black Mirror Xyz Dragon _ commanding him to “play Fetch” with Kachidoki...

“Yes, he’s certainly my new favorite,” Serena said with a smile as she looked at the card in her hand. 

“At this rate, maybe I should get my own dragon too,” Yuzu giggled. “I mean, I always wanted to ride one of those in battle.”

(And somewhere in the Darkness, golden eyes glowed with mirth and amusement, very pleased with the results) 

Somehow Yoko could sense a dark presence and a chill fell down her spine. That didn’t bode well for either Yuzu or Serena.

_ Pray that day never comes, Yuzu...that you stay innocent and care-free just a bit longer.  _ Yoko thought before she glanced down and noticed Yuri was gone.  _ What?! When did Yuri -- _

Serena and Yuzu turned when they heard heard someone clapping slowly; for some reason a chill ran down both of the girls’ spines. The two turned around as someone approached them 

“That was quite the duel, girls,” someone said with a sinisterly evil smile. “Now then Yuzu, Serena,” his purple eyes opened and his smile turned into a predatory smirk, “It’s time to get you two to the Professor/” 

Serena and Yuzu turned to see Yuri approach them. Serena narrowed her eyes while Yuzu looked in horror.

“Y...Yuya?” she gasped.

“No. That’s Yuri,” Serena clarified. “He’s from the Fusion Dimension like I am.”

“Indeed I am,” Yuri chuckled. “But my, that was quite a show you gave me back there. Both of you with your Fusion monsters going after those pathetic soldiers just gave me shivers!”

To emphasize this, Yuri squirmed around, running his hands over his body. Yuzu flinched; never has she thought Futoshi’s little phrase could make her feel uncomfortable.

“Now then, I do hope you entertain me,” Yuri chuckled. “For the last two duelists I fought were...well~”

He then pulled out two cards from the pocket of his coat before revealing their images. Yuzu gasped, hand over her mouth in shock.

“Halil...Olga!” she stammered out. “You...you  _ turned them into cards _ ?!”

They were absolutely  _ boring _ ,” Yuri replied, pocketing the cards. “Are you two going to be more fun?” He asked, licking his lips while he activated his Duel Disk.

Yuzu felt her heart pound in her chest. As Yuri kept approaching them, all she could see was Yuya.

But that was impossible; there’s no way Yuya would ever become as monstrous as Yuri...right? 

Serena grabbed Yuzu’s shoulder and grit her teeth. “Run.”

“What?” Yuzu asked bewildered. 

“Run!” Serena repeated, grabbing Yuzu’s wrist and bolting out of there dragging Yuzu with her who started to run once she regained the ability to think. 

Yuri chuckled as he looked at his dragon. “Oh dear, the princesses think that they’ll be able outrun the dragon. Let’s prove them  _ wrong _ , Starving Venom!”

That was her cue.

Yoko slipped her helmet back on and gripped onto the handles of her motorcycle hard. With a steady purr, she sped down a slope right where Serena and Yuzu were headed with Yuri slowly approaching them and stopped. Yuri gained a dumb-founded expression on his face and both Serena and Yuzu looked confused.. 

“Who the hell are you?!” Yuri exclaimed.

Yoko narrowed her eyes. Yeah, she could totally see the similarities to Yuya, Yuto and Yugo in him. She could also tell by the smile that he was just like his Father. Whether he was always  _ this _ sadistic or that was just a product of Akabastard raising him would have to come later.

She turned to the two girls, briefly taken aback at seeing two girls with Yuzu’s face staring back at her before nodding her head. Both Serena and Yuzu immediately hopped onto the motorcycle without hesitation.. Anything was better than Yuri being near right now. 

“You two okay?” Yoko asked.

“Yeah, we’re...W…wait a second. Yoko san?!” Yuzu gasped in surprise. “You can ride a motorcycle?!”

“You know her?” Serena replied.

“She’s the mother of one of my close friends. Wait... _ you _ know Yoko-san?!”

Yoko chuckled. “We’ve met before, Yuzu-chan. Now, hold on tight. I’m taking you someplace safe.” 

And both girls clung to her for dear life as she sped away from Yuri. 

***************

Yuri had no idea how or why a motorcyclist was there to take those girls away from him. But it mattered not; he would find them, come hell or high water.

But just as he was about to chase after them, a white D-wheel jumped down also (Okay what was up with that?) causing him to step back. Said D-Wheel screeched to a halt in front of Yuri blocking his path yet again.

“Are you that previous biker’s son or something?” Yuri asked with a tic forming in his left eye.

“Or something, and I can’t let you go anywhere near them, Yuri,” said Yugo, getting off of his D-wheel.

“Hm?” Yuri asked raising an eyebrow, a bit amused at the boy coming near him. Who was he again? Oh right, he’s the boy from the Synchro dimension! He must be here for the girl he took, Rin, was it?

“...”

“Well it seems you have me at a disadvantage here,” Yuri said with an innocent smile full of venom. “After all you seem to know  _ my  _ name, but I don’t know yours~” 

The boy gave him a sad smile, shaking his head. “You do know my name, Yuri,” he took his helmet off showing his blue hair and blond crescent bangs and crystal clear eyes. “Don’t you remember?” 

The minute those eyes gazed into his own, Yuri saw a younger version of that boy and familiar words enter his mind.

_ "Go away, Yugo!" _

_ "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, my Lily. I didn't mean to say those things to you!"  _

_ _

_ "No, no let go of me! You're stupid, you're so  _ stupid,  _ Yugo!"  _

_ "I really am sorry, Yuri. I was very stupid and mean. I didn't mean it." _

_ "...I know."  _

“Yu-” Yuri shook his head as memories of that dream assaulted him, he took one step away before stopping himself. That was all from a dream, nothing more. 

Yugo gave him a soft smile offering his hand to Yuri. “My lilly,” Yuri’s eyes widened in shock, his heart had stopped beating for a moment before it began to hammer in his chest. 

_ No nononononono, What..? What the HELL IS GOING ON? _

The pink lily that was tucked in his hair that night was kept in the pocket of his jacket, hidden from sight. Yet Yuri couldn’t help but take a glance at it. How could it exist if it was from a dream?

And why did he still keep it on him when he should’ve tossed it in the trash?

“Yuri?” Yugo asked trying to step further towards. “Hey, look at me,” he said softly, with a smile just as soft, looking at Yuri. “It’s going to be okay….”

“Oh yes, it’s going to be okay,” Yuri replied. “Once I get rid of you!”

Yugo froze and his smile turned into a sad frown which made Yuri’s heart hurt too much, making his anger at himself rise. 

“Stop looking at me with those eyes!” Yuri snapped, wanting that look removed both because it hurt tp see, and because it just made his annoyance at himself rise for falling for something so beautiful and loving and kind.... 

“Yuri…” 

Yuri activated his duel disk and narrowed his eyes. “Enough. Lets duel.”

Yugo looked into his brother’s eyes, then at the Duel Disk attached to his D-Wheel before giving his reply. “...No.”

“No? NO?!” Yuri repeated.

Something inside Yuri snapped. This person was  _ refusing _ to duel?

“Why aren’t you going to duel?” he snapped. “Aren’t you mad at me? I took away that girl...Rin, right? Don’t you want revenge? Don’t you want me to give up what’s going to happen to her?”

“I want a lot of things back. I want Rin back, along with you. And you will duel...but not against me,” Yugo said, shaking his head.

“What the hell is that supposed to…”

“Did the lily make you happy?” Yugo asked suddenly

Yuri froze in place. “Wha-what?” he asked bewildered.

“Did you like the lilly I gave you as an apology?” 

Yuri choked. How the hell did he know about -- 

“Bright pink, and I tucked it in your hair,” Yugo sighed. “I still remembered what happened that made me give you the lily in the first place I was unleashing my dragon magic and it accidentally destroyed a patch of flowers you were working on. You got mad, and we started fighting and I called you something stupid and slapped you. You ran away with tears in your eyes and I felt really bad.

“So I left our castle in order to find a flower that would state my apology. I didn’t tell anyone; not Father, not our brothers, not our dragons. I had to do this in order to show how much I cared.

“I eventually found a beautiful pink lily by the lake and raced all the way home so I could give it to you.”

Yuri’s mouth opened and closed, eyes wide, his heart was beating too fast. He couldn’t remember any of that but it  _ sounded  _ right, too right, it sounded like the truth to his ear. 

“Do you remember what I said after that? When we were falling asleep?” Yugo whispered softly, somehow in front of Yuri and now gently grabbing his wrist. 

“**_You make_** **_that lily more beautiful by just having it,” _**Both of them whispered at the same time.

And upon realizing what he just said, Yuri backed away as if he had just touched a hot iron, clutching the hand Yugo grabbed in disbelief. 

“What’s going on?!” He yelled, face filled with rage and eyes filled with tears. “What are you doing to me? You’re tricking me, somehow, you must be!”

Yugo shook his head and took one more step towards Yuri. “My lily...”

“STOP CALLING ME THAT! I am not  _ yours!  _ You can’t talk to me as if you’ve known me your whole life! You know  _ nothing _ about me! _ ”  _ Yuri screamed. 

Yugo just smiled, and opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak.  _ _

“Yugo!” Both of the boys’ attention snapped to the two new arrivals. 

“Yuya! Yuto!” Yugo yelled back happy his two brothers arrived, sliding down the icy slopes before placing their hands on his shoulders. Both Yuto and Yuya gave warm smiles before all looked back at Yuri.

“Yuri..” the one with red and green hair stated with wide and hopeful eyes. Yuri rathered he not learn (remember) his name. Instead, he just activated his duel disk, gritting his teeth. The other three boys looked at each other and nodded before both Yugo and Yuto stepped away to the side, letting Yuya activate his duel disk.

“Ugh finally,” Yuri said, regaining his smirk and composure. “I was starting to get  _ bored  _ of that one -- Yugo, was it? -- talking. I’d be glad to sink my teeth into something to entertain me until I get my hands on Serena and her bubblegum bitch counterpart.”

“So you do remember,” Yugo said with a small smirk, which made Yuri’s eye twitch.

“It doesn’t matter if I remember you or not, Fusion Pawn,” Yuri taunted.

“It’s not Fusion, it’s Yugo!” Yugo clarified. 

“It’s okay, Yugo,” said Yuya. “This is between Yuri and I. I’ll bring him back I promise, okay?”

Yuto and Yugo stared at their baby brother and the determination in his eyes. They smiled and nodded their heads.

_ “Good luck, Yuya.”  _ said Yuto.

_ “Bring our lily back to us.” _ Yugo added.

Yuya nodded his head, hand clutching his pendulum.  _ “Father...please be by my side. Help me bring our brother back.” _

“Okay Yu~ya,” Yuri teased. “Let’s get this show on the road then!”

*************

“You got them to safety Yoko-san?” Mieru repeated on her phone. “Right, I’m in the Jungle section right now.”

_ “Nice work, Mieru-chan,”  _ Yoko replied on her phone.  _ “Stay right where you are. I’m going to drop Yuzu and Serena right here then drive back to the Iceberg section to keep an eye on Yuya and the others. Contact me if Obelisk Force appears again.” _

“Right. I will.” Mieru nodded her head as she hung up. She exhaled and leaned back against the tree, knowing that today has been such a long day and she could use the rest.

Thankfully she had found Michiyo and his “partner” Teppei Tairyobata -- although a quick glance through her crystal apple showed that he wasn’t as nice as he appeared -- meaning that she could have a hot meal and someone to guide her should Obelisk Force make it by.

“Why are you even out here in the first place?” asked Michiyo, looking up from the pot of stew he was cooking to stare at the fortune-teller.

Mieru looked up before staring at her crystal apple. “If I told you, I highly doubt that you would believe me.”

“Try me,” Michiyo replied with that kind smile on his face.

Mieru sighed. “People from another dimension that specialize in Fusion summoning are invading ours, and if we stand in their way, they’re gonna trap us all in cards. At least that’s the short version I learned from Yuya,” she answered. 

Michyo and Teppei looked at each other before looking back at the fortune-teller to see that she was 100% genuine. They had no idea how to feel about that. 

Well, one of them knew how to feel.

“That is absolutely out of our league!” Teppei exclaimed. “Why not let someone  _ else  _ take care of them? We’re no match for those guys!”

“That’s the problem,” Mieru sighed. “Apparently there were duelists from the Youth Division that were supposed to go stop them...only one of them survived being carded and not because of his own skills either.”

“This  _ is  _ serious,” Michiyo frowned. ”And Yuya’s not one to lie about such things.”

“HOW DARE YOU ASSUME DARLING WOULD LIE ABOUT THIS!” Mieru shouted. “Yuya is many things, but he’s not a liar!”

“Yeah he’s not a liar...he’s a humongous clown,” Teppei replied with a chuckle, which Mieru replied with smacking her crystal apple across his face.

“NEVER INSULT MY DARLING AGAIN!” she shouted in the fisherman’s face. 

“Really now?” Teppei grinned. “And who’s gonna stop me if I don’t? His  _ mom _ ?” He then barked like a seal fat on fish at that remark...just as Mieru and Michiyo saw someone in a white coat on a motorcycle approach their campsite from behind.

“Indeed. I would,” said Yoko sitting on her motorcycle like a queen on her throne, still having her helmet on covering her face, Yuzu sitting in front of her and Serena clutching her waist. “Now, care to try calling my son a clown again? In front of my  _ face _ ?”

Goosebumps ran down Teppei’s body as he saw Yoko, who took her helmet off and glared at him. Her piercing green eyes were like metal rods skewered through his body.

“N...no, ma’am!” Teppei stammered, mouth turning dry. “I...I meant that he was a clown in a good way in making people smile and laugh. Not in the way that he was an utter fool and all…”

“Just as I thought,” Yoko said with a grin and patting Teppei’s shoulder. “Just be glad I had my fill in fighting off blowhards today, else you’d be feasting on a knuckle sandwich right about now.”

Teppei gulped, shaking about like a fish out of water. Note to self: Never insult Yuya in front of his mom ever again!

“T...this is Yuya’s mom?!” Michiyo gulped. This was entirely different than the housewife who requested all those recipes!

“Yeah, I’m surprised about that too,” Yuzu added as she got off the motorcycle. Serena followed suit and when she looked at the three duelists at the camp, they all gasped.

“You...you look just like Yuzu!” Mieru stated, pointing a finger back and forth at Yuzu and Serena.

“Yeah seems I do,” said Serena, seating herself down next to Teppei. “Name’s Serena. I’m from the Fusion Dimension.” 

“FUSION?!” Mieru gasped. “You mean you’re also from the same place as Yuri?”

“Yuri?” Michiyo questioned. “Who the heck is that?”

“Fusion Dimension?” Teppei stated, scooting away from Serena. “That same place with those soldiers Mieru mentioned?!” Yuzu nodded. 

“She knows about Yuri too?” Serena hissed at Yoko, jerking a thumb at the fortune-teller.

“Without her, I wouldn’t have located him, you or Yuzu in the first place,” Yoko explained. “How did you get there anyway?”

“Some ninjas threw a smoke-bomb and carried us there,” Serena answered.

“Ninjas?” Mieru repeated. “Ooooh...that must be Hikage and his brother Tsukikage...I will  _ never  _ forgive Tsukikage for defeating me in my duel to honor darling!”

Mieru began to stew in her defeat as Michiyo began adding some herbs into the stew. It was just about ready.

“So Yoko-san,” said Michiyo. “Would you mind staying for a meal?”

“As much as I love to, I have to get back to Yuya. By the way, I am going to need to make him something good after he duels Yuri, any tips?” 

“Yuya is DUELING YURI?!” Yuzu shouted. “W...we have to go back for him right now! He could be in danger! He carded Halil and Olga, Yoko-san!”

“So that carding thing was true too?!” Teppei gulped once again.

“Yuya will be fine Yuzu-chan, trust me,” Yoko said with a smile. If nothing else she trusted Zarc not to let their son be harmed by his brother. She still believed in Yuya, but he wasn’t aiming to win. He was aiming to reach Yuri’s heart, which would be hard enough as is. But she trusted her son. So that demonic father of their better stand up to her expectations or else. 

“Hmm…” Michiyo hummed. “Something simple on the stomach should do. Knowing Yuya, as long as it’s made from the heart then he’ll take anything.”

“Something simple...knowing Yuya...from the heart…” Yoko muttered, rubbing her chin in thought. She then snapped her fingers. “Perfect, I know just the thing! Thanks again Michiyo-kun!” She placed a kiss on his cheek before she raced back to her motorcycle.

“Call me if anything happens, Mieru!” she said. “And make sure to be wary of any guys in blue coats who summon Ancient Gear monsters okay?”

“We will,” said Mieru. “Take care, Yoko-san!”

Yoko nodded as she sped off back to the Iceberg quadrant, feeling like she was the leader of the Maiami Queens again, owning the fucking roads without a care in the world.

As Mieru turned her head back to Michiyo ladling stew for everyone, her crystal apple began to glow. She raised and it and waved it over the others...before she stopped at Serena and saw a black fog forming inside.

_ Her too?!  _ she thought, seeing Serena taking a bowl of stew for herself.  _ Just...just what is going on here? _

************

Yuya and Yuri stood facing each other in the icy wasteland, the red and green haired boy looked worriedly at his counterpart who had a deceptively confident smirk on his lips. He remembered that smirk, when it was real, so full of confidence and mischief, it meant nothing good to any who stood in its way. He looked beautiful and deadly, and Yuya missed him. He wanted to run to his big brother’s arms, to hug him, kiss him once more, tell him how much he loved him and missed him. 

Yuri was, in a few words,...pissed, infuriated, wrathful! He hid all these emotions behind a mask of confidence and a smirk, an air of calm and pride in order to deceive his prey and unsettle them. And it usually works. He knows that it does, if Yuri was in the mood he would chip away at his opponent's confidence, break him down bit by bit.

But he somehow knew… in terms of emotional stability, his standard counterpart had the advantage here. 

Because Yuri truthfully was about ready to scream and break and cry, and the only thing keeping him standing is the hope of destruction, to unleash his based desire and raise hell. Nothing felt so good like hurting the people who would presume to see themselves above Yuri, those who were a part of a world that tossed Yuri aside and kept him alone.

But not today. No, everything that had happened to him in the past few days was chipping away at his sanity. The dreams of hope, of family, the promise of unconditional love and tender affection from the one who called him “Lily”, _Yugo. _The boy beside him from Xyz -Yuto- and his opponent...Yuya Sakaki, were those who promised him such things in his dreams, and now Yuya who always looked at him with that loving smile of his, innocent love shining in his ruby red eyes. 

Yuri wished that look would leave his eyes already! Even now, as he stood facing Yuya, the look in his eyes did not change from his dream. Reality merely added sadness into them, and something treasured in Yuri’s heart wanted to open his arms to the boy, to do anything to make him smile, that it was  _ his  _ job to never let Yuya’s smile fall. 

And Yuri did his best to keep stomping on that part of him that just wouldn’t  _ shut the fuck up! _

“Well then  _ Yu~ya,  _ let’s do this,” his smirk straining against his cheeks, and it felt like he’d either break down crying or laughing at any second. 

“Yuri,” Yuya called softly, and Yuri balled his hands to fists.  _ No! Fuck no, not the tenderness and love in that one word, he can’t handle this!  _ He nodded his head as he drew his cards. “Let’s duel!”

**Yuya: 4000**

**Yuri: 4000**

“Since this is  _ your _ dimension, you get the first move,” said Yuri. “Make it count.”

“I will, I draw!” said Yuya, drawing his card. 

Upon looking at the cards in his hand, Yuya frowned. He didn’t want to win; just get Yuri to remember who they were. It wasn’t going to be easy, but if anyone could get Yuri to return then it was him.

“For my first move,” Yuya announced, showing off two familiar cards. “I’ll set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!”

He placed both cards on the furthest sides of the Duel Disk. The word ‘PENDULUM’ lit up in multiple colors before the familiar magicians rose into the air, the numbers ‘1’ and ‘8’ shining beneath their feet.

Upon seeing the magicians, Yuri felt something in him...he...he knew them, right? Timegazer and Stargazer...they were…

_ “It’s them!”  _ Yuto gasped.

_ “Our teachers!”  _ Yugo cheered.

Yuya looked at his magicians and soon realized the connection. Of course, it was just like Yugo said. Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician used to teach him, Yuto, Yugo and Yuri all about magic! He could remember enter their studies, the ceiling decorated with constellations, looking up star charts and books with sienna ink drawings of clocks, trying to fiddle around with Timegazer’s pocketwatches, listening with wide-eyes at the lectures when it came to controlling the shadow magic each boy contained.

_ You two... _ Yuya said, remembering how they and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon were always there for him, even though they felt out of place with his Performapal monsters. Now he understood why he felt so close to them.

Timegazer Magician looked down at Yuya, his eyes were soft and filled with affection and pride for the young prince.  _ “I’m glad you finally remembered us, my young lord,”  _ him and Stargazer had been the boys’ favorite teachers, it was their duty to take care of the young masters and shape them and their magic into the best it could be. Yuya’s eyes now filled with even more affection for the two magicians who always stood by his side and aided him in his duels. 

Stargazer Magician also nodded his head and chuckled, and Yuya’s grin widened. Now he was more confident in what he had to do.

“With these two in my Pendulum Zones, I’m allowed to Pendulum Summon monsters from my hand whose levels are between 2 and 7,” Yuya continued. “ _ "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now  _ _ Level 4 Performapal Bowhopper and Level 6 King Bear _ !”

Appearing on the field under a spotlight were two animals ready for a show. Performapal Bowhopper was a crescent-shaped grasshopper wearing white gloves on front legs and orange ones on its hind legs where a pink bowtie with cyan polka-dots rested. It also wore a tuxedo with a red bowtie and an orange star was painted over its left eye. Resting on its nose was a blue bow where a little cricket rested on the grip of the bow, wearing a tiny suit and holding a top hat in one of its legs. King Bear was a bear standing on his hind legs with bright orange fur, wearing an ermine trimmed cape a violet doublet with a green bowtie and a silver crown. On its left leg is a black star. (Bowhopper: 1500 ATK, King Bear: 2200 ATK)

“I end my turn with a face-down card,” said Yuya, slipping a card into the tray of his Duel Disk. “Your move, Yuri.”

“Very well,” said Yuri, calmly drawing his card. “I think I’ll start with the Spell Card, Seed Cannon!”

He played the card, a Continuous Spell Card depicting a large plant with an orange flower firing a round of bullets (or seeds).

“Now whenever a Plant monster is summoned, this gains a ‘Plant Counter’,” Yuri explained. “It can only hold up to 5 Counters but each counter allows me to knock off 500 lifepoints per counter once I offer it up.

“So let’s not keep you waiting. I start by summoning Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio in Attack Mode!”

Yuri’s first monster appeared, looking exactly like a scorpion made out of a black root and cyan lines running down his body like veins. At the end of its tail was a green orchid flower with a black middle and a small stinger, ready to poison anything that came in its path.  (1200 ATK)

“And that’s not the best part,” Yuri said with a grin. “If I discard a monster from my hand to the graveyard, Ophrys Scorpio allows me to Special Summon another ‘Predaplant’ monster from my deck. I send Predaplant Cordyceps to the grave so I can summon Predaplant Darlington Cobra in Attack Mode!”

Slipping a card into his graveyard, Yuri watched as his next monster bloomed.  It was a serpentine plant, with two heads: one head being a closed purple flower and a single red eye glaring at Yuya and the other one being a purple flower in bloom  (1000 ATK)

As this happened, two glowing orbs circled Yuri’s Seed Cannon.

“Oh, one more thing  _ Yu~ya _ ,” Yuri drawled. “When Darlington Cobra is Special Summoned by the effect of another ‘Predaplant’ monster, once per duel I can take either a ‘Polymerization’ or ‘Fusion’ related Spell from my deck to my hand!”

Yuya’s eyes widened the minute he heard ‘Polymerization’. Yuri was going to…

Yuri’s twisted smile as he snatched the Polymerization card from his deck snapped Yuya out of his thoughts. Oh, yes...this is going to be so much  _ fun _ .

“I play Polymerization and fuse my two Predaplants together!”

With that familiar swirl of cerulean and cyan behind him, Yuri looked excited as his two monsters wirled behind him. Yuya could hear the roar of a dragon,  _ that _ dragon, ready to be unleashed.

_ “Two flowers with an insect-alluring fragrance! Now become one, and from the hell beneath your petals, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs. Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"  _

From within a portal growing with vines, Yuri’s dragon emerged. Purple like poison with thorny vines and glowing red orbs like closed flower buds, it screamed “danger” and “death” to those who looked at it. The dragon growled at Yuya’s Performapal monsters, ready to swallow them whole. (2800 ATK)

“Starving Venom…” Yuya whispered. 

He remembered the fearsome dragon that slumbered within the gardens. Yuri was his favorite between the four boys, Yuya, Yuto and Yugo would scratch its scales or be allowed to slumber by its side, the brothers would slide down his back. It was very protective of the garden; anyone foolish enough to trample on the flowers or cut down its trees would have to face its wrath.

“Starving Venom Fusion Dragon’s effect!” said Yuri. “I select one of your Special Summoned monsters and Starving Venom Fusion gains attack points equal to that monster’s attack. So I think I’ll choose...your Performapal King Bear!”

Starving Venom grinned as the bear shivered in place. Then, a violet aura surrounded the dragon as its attack shot to 5000!

_ Not good... _ Yuya gulped.

“Go my monster,” said Yuri. “Attack that overgrown teddy bear now! Voracious Assault!”

The wings of the dragon suddenly opened to reveal sinister maws. Its tail lashed out, the end also revealing a hungry mouth that swallowed Yuya’s monster whole.

**Yuya: 1200**

**Yuri: 4000**

“I activate my face-down card, Performapal Revival!” said Yuya, gritting his teeth. He wasn’t going to lose, not now!

Yuya’s face-down card flipped, revealing Performapal Turntoad popping out of a collapsed box and a puff of smoke, his top hat in its webbed foot.

“When one of my monsters is destroyed, I can Special Summon a ‘Performapal’ monster from my hand or graveyard. So I Special Summon Performapal Longphone Bull!”

Rising onto the field was a teal colored bull in a white shirt and red waistcoat with a phone balanced on its pink horns. (1600 ATK)

“Performapal Longphone Bull’s effect activates! When he’s Special Summoned, I can add a ‘Performapal’ monster from my deck to my hand!”

The phone on top of the bull’s head rang and he picked it up to take the call.

“Fine, gather as many  _ friends _ as you want,” Yuri hissed. “They’ll all fall in the end.”

Yuya began to think about what monster would be the best to get through to Yuri, except none of them were particularly strong enough to fight off Starving Venom Fusion Dragon.

** _Yuya...use this one._ **

A card popped out from the deck and Yuya took it. Upon seeing its image, Yuya’s eyes widened in shock.

_ “This...this is…” _

** _Use it to call out to your brother._ **

Yuya nodded his head as he stared at Yuri. This had to work. This  _ had to work. _

“My move,” said Yuya, drawing his card. “First, I start by playing the Field Spell Sky Iris!”

The Field Spell appeared, showing an  _ aurora borealis _ in the sky. There was also a strange magic circle where a...familiar dragon was emerging.

But...Yuri had never seen that dragon before. Why did he know it was familiar?

“As long as this Field Spell is on the field, you cannot target any ‘Magician’, ‘Performapal’ or ‘Odd-Eyes’ monsters in my Pendulum Zones with card effects,” Yuya explained. “It also has another effect I’ll save for later.

“Next, with my Level 4 Performapal Bowhopper and Level 4 Performapal Longphone Bull, I construct the Overlay Network!”

The Overlay Network appeared in front of Yuya and his two monsters leapt into it gleefully. Yuya inhaled as he prepared the chant.

_ “Dragon who traverses through darkness and mirrors; emerge from the looking glass and reveal the dark desires that lies within my opponent's heart! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Emerge Black Mirror Xyz Dragon!” _

Rising onto the field is the wrought-iron dragon with the diamond on its forehead and eyes similar to cracked mirrors. (2500 ATK)

“What now?” asked Yuri. “Going to use one of its Overlay Units on me?”

“...No.” Yuya answered.

Yuri raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was his counterpart  _ that  _ incompetent?! “No?”

“I Xyz Summoned him, yes, but it was more to support this monster I’m going to summon next,” said Yuya, feeling his heart race. “Now put your hands together for his on-stage debut, I summon... _ Performapal Empyrean Magician _ !”

Rising onto the field, cocooned by a pair of black dragon wings and showered with black and green stars, was a sorcerer in a silver robe with black and green trim. In his black gloved hands, he wielded two curved blades colored silver and lined with green. His head was covered by a hood where two black horns stuck out, his face framed with hair as silver as his clothes. (1500 ATK)

But it was his face that made Yuri pause. It was so...familiar. His heart stopped again, just as it did when he looked at Yugo, only now his heart hurt even more, and he had no idea that that was possible. 

Yuri took several gulps of air trying to calm himself down as best he could. No, how could a monster be so familiar to Yuri? This was...this was a trick. This had to be!

Yet as he stared at this magician, Yuri felt like... like it was... _ real _ . Tears filled Yuri’s eyes but he shook his head, removing them. 

Yuya looked in awe at the monster he summoned. He looked so similar to Father that he wouldn’t be surprised to hear Father’s voice speaking through it. The magician opened his eyes, golden and shining with love and affection. He had that familiar adoring smile on his face, the one he only reserved for his precious children.

_ “Father…” _ Yuya thought in awe

_ “Beautiful,”  _ thought Yuri, he felt his legs shaking just from looking at this monster. 

Empyrean Magician lifted his head and, with a tender smile on his lips, spoke.

** _Yuri…_ ** The magician whispered, soft and gentle as an ocean breeze.

It was everything Yuri could do not to fall on his knees and drown in the emotions clogging his throat.

“W...Why is that monster talking to me?” Yuri stammered, almost whimpering. 

**_Yuri, my beautiful lily...I've missed you so_****.** Empyreal Magician stated, still with that smile on his face. Despite being a DARK monster, his form gave off such a warm light. The rays kissed Yuri’s face tenderly, and the pink haired boy wanted to cry. 

That was the man in his dreams, his father, and Yuri wanted to go to him,to open his arms and embrace him, to never let go, to beg him to never let Yuri go again.  _ Please he didn’t want to be alone again! _ And he felt so good. Father’s light and love felt so good he wanted it so badly. 

Yuri shivered, and clenched his fists further. Crescent moons now marred his palms. If Yuri thought any more about this monster and his feelings and he was gonna actually draw blood. 

** _Do not be afraid, Yuri…_ ** Empyrean Magician extended a hand out to the scared boy.  ** _Take my hand and be in my arms once more._ **

_ Master _ ...A low voice growled.

_ “Starving Venom?”  _ Yuri asked in alarm.

Empyrean Magician looked up at the Fusion monster as if staring at a gentle cat instead of a dragon who could swallow him whole. Starving Venom purred and nuzzled his head against the magician who laughed happily at the affection. Black Mirror chirped and purred when Empyrean Magician scratched his scales lovingly.

_ No....no...nonononononono!  _ Yuri thought. None of this was making sense!

**_Hello my dear Starving Venom_**_, _The magician laughed softly. **_I’ve missed you too. Thank you for taking care of my Darkest Bloom for me. _**

_ Always... _ The Fusion Dragon replied, licking Empyrean Magician. The magician’s fucking  _ wings --‘Why does a magician have such magnificent wings?!”--  _ unfurled in reply like sails catching wind. _ _

“Starving Venom, no...why...Why do I always end up alone?! My ...my own dragon,” Yuri whispered, clutching his hair with trembling hands. He glared at the magician with those loving golden eyes stared Yuri once more. Yuri growled. 

“What..what’s going on?!” he screamed at the magician. He looked at Yuya, wanting to shout for his opponent to jump off a cliff and all he could find was worry, love and sympathy in those ruby eyes, as if Yuya had the need to embrace him...as if it  _ hurt  _ Yuya to see him as he was hurting. 

Well, what the hell did the other boy expect?!  _ He  _ was hurting Yuri. 

“Why do you look at me like that?! Stop looking at me like I'm so precious... because i'm not… I’m gonna fucking destroy you! You hear me?!” 

Yuri dropped to his knees as tears spilled down his face. Everything, everything was too much. The magicians, Yuya, his dreams, his other two counterparts who looked at Yuri with identical expressions to Yuya (don’t pity me, please stop pitying me! I don’t want your pity, damnit!) 

“Yuri, you  _ are  _ precious to me, and to our brothers and especially to Father,” Yuya explained, heart shattered like Black Mirror’s eyes. He offered his hand too. “Please, come home, back into our arms,” he whispered tenderly. 

** _Listen to your brother, my precious lily..._ **

“I don't have brothers!” Yuri snapped. “And I don't have a father! Stop spouting out these lies!”

** _I would never lie to you. Please forgive me for taking so long to return to you. I wish I could’ve done more for you, given you the love you deserve and crave. _ **

“It's not fair! It's not fair!!!” Yuri sobbed, shaking his head. ”Why would you do this to me?! Why give me hope?” 

At this Starving Venom was trying to comfort Yuri but Yuri looked away. This caused the other boys to look in horror; Yuri  _ never _ ignored Starving Venom when it showed concern for their older brother.

“This is BULLSHIT!” Yuri screamed. “ALL OF THIS! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU ALL PAY FOR MAKING ME FEEL LIKE THIS!”

“...I'm sorry,” Yuya whispered, knowing he had to do this the hard way. “Empyrean Magician’s effect activates! On the turn I summon him, he gains a different effect based on the type of monster I control. Since I control an Xyz monster, his attack is doubled!”

Black Mirror Xyz Dragon growled as Empyrean Magician nodded his head, a black aura surrounding him. (1500 -) 3000 ATK)

“Empyrean Magician...ATTACK STARVING VENOM!”

Empyrean Magician bowed his head before he summoned his silver sickles into the air. An orb of silver light formed above his head before he brought his weapons down. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon screeched as the orb struck its chest, disintegrating him.

**Yuya: 1200**

**Yuri: 3800**

Yuri’s eyes became hidden by shadows as he bit his lower lip hard enough to bleed, before looking up with a manic look on his face, one Yuya also knew well, on both Yuri and Father’s faces. it was a sadistic glee that came during punishments. Yuri was vengeful now. He started cackling, lifting his head to the air, his voice was the only thing that could be heard in this arctic landscape.

“You said that you were my father,” Yuri hissed, raising his eyebrow. “And yet you destroyed my precious monster! See? You lied...YOU LIED TO ME!” 

Yuya never thought that look, that tone would ever be directed at one of them. And to be directed at  _ Father  _ of all people...

Empyrean Magician said nothing, but...for just one moment, the four boys thought a tear fell down his eye. 

“I’m sorry for this,” Yuya apologized. 

“I’m not sorry for what I’m going to do next,” Yuri sneered. “Since Starving Venom Fusion Dragon was destroyed, so are all of your Special Summoned monsters!”

Thorny vines rose on Yuya’s side of the field before they wrapped themselves around Black Mirror Xyz Dragon. The dragon whimpered as the vines constricted against its body, pulling it until it was destroyed and shattered into black pixels.

“HAHAHAHAHAAAAA!” Yuri cackled. “How does it feel, Yuya? How does it feel to find your hopes absolutely  _ crushed _ like glass beneath my feet?!”

Yuya shivered; Yuri’s laugh was so loud, frantic and absolutely hurtful. Not just to him, but also to Yuri himself.

** _My thorned Rose, _ ** Zarc tried once more, and Yuri’s head snapped to him, pink eyes full of anger, hurt and hatred. ** _ We're only trying to reach you_ ** .  ** _It hurts me to see you like this. Every tear you shed, word you shout...it's like a blade slicing my soul. It shatters my heart, my Dark Bloom, that you closed yours to me. _ **

“Shatters YOUR Heart?!” Yuri yelled, voice on edge, seconds away from breaking down and sobbing. “WHAT ABOUT MINE?!” He screeched, taking deep breaths before regaining his composure, and flicking a strand of hair from his face, the image of confidence and eerie calm on his face. He chuckled, shoulders shaking.

“What am I saying?” He shook his head, that confident smirk back on his face. “You're not even real...you're just a  _ monster _ ! How are you even talking?” His hands were trembling, and a twitch appeared in his eye. “I’m going crazy, aren't I? I must be! I haven't had a good night’s sleep in days! All because of those dreams of  _ false hope _ !“

Yuri snickered as he added, “But it’s fine, because once I’m done with my mission, I wouldn’t have to waste my time thinking about  _ any  _ of you. You’ll all be out of my hair  _ forever _ !”

Yuya reacted as if he had just been burned. He took a step back, eyes wide in shock and fear. His brother was so far gone, he looked like he was about to snap. Yuya opened his lips to say something but all that came out was a whimper of horror. Yugo and Yuto were in a similar boat to Yuya. Oh how they wanted to comfort their eldest brother, but he was like a caged tiger hungry for blood and carrion. 

** _Yuri…_ ** Zarc whispered, not ready to give up hope in reaching his eldest son. Not yet. Never. He was going to get his treasure back, he knew Yuya can do it, he had faith in his Shooting star, his flames reached everyone’s hearts. He will get through to Yuri he knew it.  ** _No, you're not going crazy, my Thorned Rose. It's truly me, your father...speaking to you right now. I sent you those dreams to give you hope that you will return to us._ **

Yuri panted, tears trickling down his face as he looked at his surroundings: Yuya, Yuto and Yugo looking at him with sympathy. Yuya’s magicians floating in the air, gazing at him with solemn stares like angels watching if he shall sin. Empyrean Magician looking at him with love, warmth and patience and a hand extended.

This...this was too much. 

And he was going to end it right here, right now.

”...Yuya, was it?” Yuri asked, so soft that the others thought they were hearing things.

“Yes?” Yuya replied, not liking how soft Yuri’s voice became.

“Get that...that  _ thing  _ OUT OF MY SIGHT!” Yuri screamed with enough force to knock his brothers flat on their backs. Yuya flinched back, wanting to whimper. “I'm gonna beat you, card you and then get you out of my life!” Yuri swore, hands trembling. “I don't want fake promises! I don't want dashed hope! You're...you’re going to fucking pay! Everyone is gonna pay with their  _ fucking lives _ !” 

When he said that last exclamation, Yuya swore Yuri’s eyes turned into slits. Yuri was so angry, his dragon form had manifested slightly without Father awakening that part in him. 

_ “Yuri…”  _ Yuto said, knowing that look so well.

_ “We just want to help…”  _ Yugo whimpered, crushed to see his lily this corrupted by his anguish and despair.

Yuri clutched his head hearing both Yugo and Yuto in his mind ( _ “How is this even possible? Why can he hear them too?!”) _ . He glared at both and snarled. 

_ “ _ Stay out of this! _ ”  _ he hissed. “After I’m done with him, you two are fucking next!” Both younger brothers flinched back. 

”...Father…” Yuya whispered, turning to the magician.

** _Do what you need to do, my shooting star. _ ** If words were not going to reach Yuri, then let the pieces of his soul brought together do it. Empyrean Magician closed his eyes in acceptance. Both Timegazer and Stargazer looked solemn, knowing what the black-winged magician was implying. 

Yuya nodded his head, his bangs covering the tears forming in his eyes. “I activate the effect of my Sky Iris Field Spell. By offering a face-up card I control, I can take an ‘Odd-Eyes’ card from my deck to my hand. And the monster I choose to offer is...Performapal Empyrean Magician.”

Empyrean Magician smiled sadly before he was struck down with a bolt of lightning. Yuya then took another card to his hand and looked at it: Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

Yuri bit his tongue, and stopped himself from crying and screaming in horror as the magician was struck down by the lightning, tried hard not to yell and beg the magician to come back. He had unconsciously extended his hand to reach for him, now...not when Empyrean Magician offered it to him freely. 

_ “Please come back. I need you, pleasepleaseplease comeback!”  _ Yuri pleaded the minute he realized just what Yuya was planning. 

He closed his eyes shut and shook his head, anger returning to him, clutching his hands and teeth once more. 

“Don't worry Yuri, we'll prove that our love isn't a lie…” Yuya promised. “I'm not offering you false hope, big brother. Feel it in your heart, Father's very soul and ours are crying to you.” 

”...”

“Now it's time to Pendulum Summon once more! Come to the field, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and come back Performapal Empyrean Magician!” Yuya called.

Two bolts of lightning struck the field as two monsters appeared: the magician in his silver cloak with green highlights and black wings and the red dragon with dichromatic eyes appeared, looking happy to see Yuri on the field. And, Yuya might have been imagining things, but perhaps it was excited in seeing Starving Venom Fusion Dragon once more. (Performapal Empyrean Magician: 1500 ATK, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 ATK)

Yuri's heart and body felt like he had been set on fire. “How is that possible? You destroyed Fa...you destroyed him! How is he back?”

“Pendulum monsters that leave the field go to my Extra Deck,” Yuya explained. “Then I could Pendulum Summon him back. See? Father came back...he came back for you, Yuri. He always will. Just as he came back for all of us.”

Yuri stayed silent, biting his bottom lip so hard that blood was trickling down his chin. The three brothers and trio of magicians noticed the blood drop onto the icy floor in horror, it hurt them all to see Yuri like this. Yuya, Yuto, Yugo and their father wished to wipe away the blood, kiss the boy better and keep him forever in their arms. 

“I end my turn there,” Yuya looked at Yuri with pleading eyes, begging him to open his heart and listen to them, “Please Yuri, no more fighting, come home...come back to all of us,” he said, extending his hand.

“No…” Yuri shook his head, tears falling freely down his face, heart hammering away in his chest as he kept looking at Empyrean Magician. He wanted the monster gone, but he needed that magician to stay. He  _ wanted  _ to beg this monster to stay and never leave, wanted to believe the lies he was hearing because the thought of it sounded too sweet, too beautiful, too good compared to everything else he’s endured. At this point, it was stubbornness and fear that prevented him from doing any of that. 

“I won't stop,” Yuri stated, practically tearing the card off of his deck. “Until you're beaten to the ground! I offer up my Seed Cannon here and now! And since it has 2 Plant Counters, I can inflict 1000 points of damage!”

The Continuous Spell Card shattered and fired the two Seed Counters onto Yuya’s Duel Disk. The Pendulum duelist screamed as he was flung backwards before he fell on his stomach, smoke rising from the attack.

**Yuya: 200**

**Yuri: 3800**

_ “YUYA!”  _ Yuto and Yugo screamed.

As Yuya stood up, he was utterly confused at his brother’s strategy, “Why do that if you could just summon another Plant monster and give it a third counter?” he asked, vexed at what Yuri was planning. “That way you could have offered it to knock off all of my lifepoints!”

“Because I want to PERSONALLY destroy that _magician _so that I **_never_** have to feel like this again!!!!” Yuri shouted, slamming a card into the tray of his Duel Disk. “I play Re-Fusion to revive Starving Venom from my graveyard for the cost of 800 lifepoints!” 

Yuri played his next Spell Card, a purple void with a white in the center where a lavender demon and yellow dragon circled each other, before Starving Venom was revived once more ready to kill. (2800 ATK)

**Yuya: 200**

**Yuri: 3000**

Yuri’s dragon lifted its head to the sky and roared, Odd Eyes responded in kind, and the two synchronised their roars which echoed in the night. 

“What the...Starving Venom, what are you doing?!” Yuri asked, never seeing his dragon respond like this before.

The two dragons called to each other, happy to see one another after so long, reunited at long last. Dark Rebellion and Clear Wing joined in. Empyrean Magician couldn’t help but smile at this. The dragons of Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Pendulum all reunited, just like how all of his sons have returned. He closed his eyes as if he was hearing beautiful melodies, but opened them again looking at Yuri happily once more extending his hands for the boy to go to him and take, to be once more in his arms.

Yuri took a good long look at Odd Eyes, he knew that dragon, just like he knew that magician’s face and loving eyes. The amount of love he could see in Empyrean Magician’s eyes, it hurt too much, and Yuri kept refusing to believe it, and having the Magician destroyed then revived hurt him more than anything he had endured in Academia, it pulled more and more at his heart...it hurt too much, what was wrong with him? 

** _Starving Venom, help us reach into Yuri’s soul, help him return to us, let us reunite once more. _ ** Empyrean Magician commanded, approaching Starving Venom once again.

“Stop that! How dare you talk to my dragon as if you know him! The one thing that is mine, and you would take him from me like that? How dare you…” Yuri shivered before screaming and running at the magician, wanting to place his hands on that monster’s neck to make him stop talking. “HOW DARE YOU!”

  
  


The magician just chuckled, melodious and happy and full of love and affection even as Yuri had tackled him onto the ground, hands on his throat, ready to squeeze the life out until Empyrean Magician laid dead. 

** _My darling lily, he is mine_ ** . Empyrean Magician lifted his hand, wiping the blood away with his thumb.  ** _You both are, my sweet treasure._ **

Yuri choked again, heart hammering in his ears, head throbbing.  _ His.  _

_ hishishis...Father’s...Father’s... _

_ No! NO! NO!NO!NO!NO!NO! _

“I’m not a treasure at all…” Yuri whispered, hands still on Empyrean Magician’s neck. “I’m nothing...I’m NOTHING!”

At this, Yuri’s hands shifted into claws and he placed one hand on his neck, reading to wake himself up from this never-ending nightmare.

“Don’t do it!” Yuto shouted. 

“Please don’t do this!” Yugo begged.  _ “Please don’t do this, Yuri!” _

Empyrean Magician just calmly embraced the boy into his chest before placing a kiss on his forehead, which made Yuri freeze and whimper, letting his hand fall as if he himself had been deactivated. Then another kiss was placed on his cheek, another on the side of his eyelids, and even a small peck on the nose. 

** _It’s alright my little blossom, Papa’s got you._ ** he hugged Yuri to his chest and started rocking him slowly, humming softly like a swarm of happy bumblebees. Yuri just...couldn’t resist this. He let himself slump against the magician for just one moment, just one. One is good.  ** _Starving Venom, please tell our sweet lily that everything is going to be okay._ **

“No…” Yuri whispered even as Starving Venom roared. “You’re...taking my dragon away…” his tears fell harder and harder. “You’ll take...everything away from me...selfish, absolutely selfish bastard!” He removed himself from the magician’s hold, stumbling away. But he could still hear the soft lullaby in his mind, making him feel drowsy and he soon fell to his knees in exhaustion

Yuya shook his head. “You’re wrong, Yuri. We’re not trying to take Starving Venom from you, we’re trying all we can to get you back, to convince you that your family is here. We’ve missed you, we’ve missed you so much,” and Yuri’s heart clenched at Yuya’s loving smile.

“You missed us too, didn't you? I can see it, sense it.” Yuya put a hand over his heart, as if it would connect to Yuri’s, and Starving Venom screeched in agreement with Yuya’s words.

“Stop this, stop this, stop this, stop this!” Yuri clenched his teeth, tears falling down his face, his heart so in pain, so hollow, it hurt. He began slamming his hands onto the icy floor, hoping to feel  _ something _ other than these feelings of hope and awe and belief that he’ll finally be happy.

“Yuri... Why do you fight it?” Yuya asked, his voice cracking slightly. “Why do you reject our love? Father's love? Our hearts are broken seeing you like that. Please come back to us.”

_ “We have all missed you,”  _ Timegazer Magician whispered.  _ “We had so many happy times together. Like that one time you wanted to use one of my special clocks to make your flowers grow faster.” _

_ “Or how you broke my astrolabe and blamed it all on Yuto.”  _ Stargazer Magician chuckled, causing Yuto blink.

_ “That was Yuri the whole time?!”  _ he exclaimed, remembering how he was grounded from going to see the shooting stars that particular night even though he stated that he didn’t break the astrolabe in the first place. 

“Who loves me? Who wants me? Who cares for me?!” Yuri screamed, shivering, wanting this all to end and  _ why can’t he just end it all _ ?! “All my life I've been neglected, isolated...and  _ now  _ you show me love? Not when I needed it most?! Not during those days in Academia when everyone hated me because I was so skilled in dueling?” 

Yuya shook his head as he approached his older brother. “We weren't there, none of us remembered, just like you don’t remember now. We were separated, but now we're back together. Yuri... We're here, come home,” Yuya extended his hand once more. 

“No…. NO! I don't want your hand!” Yuri shouted, slapping Yuya’s hand away. “I want nothing to do with ANY OF YOU! Just go away, leave me alone!”

At this, Yuri just fell to the side and curled himself into a ball. He didn’t care if he was weak, if someone from Academia knew that the brilliant watchdog of the Profesor was reduced this. All he wanted was this to go away.

“I know you're lying,” said Yuya, sitting down next to Yuri and patting his shoulder. Yuri didn’t try to fight it; instead he just covered his face in shame. “It just feels too good to be true, doesn't it? But you want us, crave us. Your heart and soul call for us, and we call back to you. Come back to our arms, please.”

”No…” Yuri whimpered, tears in his eyes. “Please...it hurts, Yuya...”

Yuya wanted to just take Yuri into his arms and cry too. No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, Yuri just couldn’t accept it. Nothing he could do was getting to him.  _ What was he doing wrong?! _

_ “Father...I can’t reach him!”  _ Yuya sobbed. Yuto and Yugo were also crying; their brother was too far gone now.  _ “What...what do I do?!” _

** _Let me take control..._ ** Empyrean Magician said, approaching Yuya and placing a hand on his head.  ** _Rest up now. It has been a long day for you. You’ve done well, my Shooting Star. _ **

Yuya saw the magician’s eyes glow before he felt so tired, felt the loving Darkness enveloping his mind. His duel disk was deactivated, causing the three Magicians and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to vanish. ...

And Zarc smiled sadly at his eldest son looking so sad and weak and lonely. 

Zarc patted Yuri’s arm, before wrapping his arms around the boy’s shoulders and putting him in his lap, he cradled Yuri's face in his hands and caressed Yuri’s cheek with his thumbs. “I know it hurts, my Dark Bloom. But it will all be better soon. My eldest child, precious lily of my life. Your family is here.”

“What family?” Yuri laughed weakly, tears still falling down his face. “I have no family!” He said weakly and began to thrash around with the last of his strength, wanting to use his claws to make this person bleed, wanting to get away from…

From... 

His breath hitched as he saw the tender and loving golden eyes on Yuya’s face, Yuri placed a shaking hand tentatively on Yuya’s face. If he didn’t feel anything, then he was dreaming.

But when Zarc leaned his cheek into that touch, it was all Yuri needed to know that he was awake. He was in reality. All of this was  _ really happening. _

Zarc kissed Yuri's hand, then leaned forward and kissed his forehead tenderly, cradling Yuri’s face to his chest. “I can hear your soul crying for us, my Lily. Come, let me in, let me Awaken you, remind you of who you truly are. It’s alright now. You’re in Father’s arms again, everything will be better all too soon for you. Trust in me, like you used to.”

Yuri sobbed, tears freely falling down his pale cheeks, his eyes red and puffy from all of the crying. “No...I don't want to be in pain anymore. I just...I just want this all to  _ end… _ ”

Zarc shushed him tenderly, running his hand through Yuri’s hair. “It won't be pain, my love. No, never pain. It will be nothing but bliss, and you will never be alone again.”

Yuto and Yugo came closer, wrapping their arms around their older brother. The Fusion user flinched, unwittingly pressing further into Zarc’s embrace, loving how warm it was. 

“It's going to be all right,” Yuto whispered hugging Yuri closer, eyes closed as he pressed to his brother, burying his head in Yuri’s shoulder and nuzzling to him.. 

“We forgive you for what you did. You’re home now, in father’s arms, our arms, where you belong.” Yugo added.

Yuri sobbed louder, his body shaking violently. “No...No no no..” he gasped for breath. “Please no more. You two...you’re supposed to hate me! I went and kidnapped those treasures of yours! You should want me DEAD right now!”

Yuto looked shocked for a moment before he smiled and caressed Yuri’s face. “How did you know to use that word, Yuri?”

Yuri paused; he had never used that term to describe those girls before. “ I...I…” 

“You're starting to remember,” Yugo whispered happily, and kissed Yuri’s cheek, which made Yuri flinch and whimper. It broke all of their hearts; he shouldn’t be reacting like this. “And it's true you took away our precious treasures.” He continued. “But we understand my Lily. We understand that you couldn't have remembered us, remember your love for us, our love for you. To you, you simply had to obey the Professor. But no more. No more, that man will  _ never  _ hold any control over you again.”

“No...the Professor...he...he was the only one to not fear me, not hate me,” Yuri stated, clutching at Zarc and burying his head in the man’s chest, craving more affection, even if he thought that he should be trying to fight back against this love and kindness that they were giving him, he didn’t deserve it after all, yet it was given to him so freely.

Zarc shook his head. “He cared nothing for you, my love and we all know it, don't we? You're just a tool for that cold-hearted Professor. But no more, no more. My Yuri, my beloved first born.” 

Yuri was too afraid to hope, to believe that any of this was real. This was nothing more than some beautiful fantasy that he will never ever obtain, he was sure. After all that he did, all that he said, this couldn’t possibly be reality. “Please...stop this…” he begged, because it will hurt more once the dream ends. It will hurt so so much.

“Shh now, my lovely bloom. You're home in my arms again. Oh how we've missed you.” Zarc kissed Yuri’s forehead, and cheeks, it made the younger boy gasp, it felt so so good, please...this was tourture, it was too good, but it wouldn’t last, he knew it would never last. “Come now,” Zarc whispered in Yuri’s ear, soft and melodic and saccharine sweet. These sensations, Yuri could get addicted to them. “It’s time to remember everything, to return to us, and forever be mine again.” 

Yuri’s eyes glazed over, panting softly, his mind so dizzy. “This...feels...so warm…”

“That’s it my child, let me in, My Lily,” Zarc cooed, closing his eyes. “Let me remind you of who you truly are. My precious Yuri. My beautiful treasure.” 

Yuri’s breathing slowed down as he closes his eyes, feeling a gentle push at his mind and soul.

“That's it sweet one,” Zarc breathed, pleased with his son calming down at last. ”Finally ours once more.”

“Remember us, Yuri, and all that we’ve been through together...” Yuto whispered.

“Remember our love, our life...and our  _ hatred _ of Akaba,” said Yugo, kissing his forehead. 

“Reunited with us, finally truly happy,” Zarc whispered in Yuri’s ear. “Reunite…”

“Reu...nite…” Yuri whispered, eyes finally closed shut.

…

…

...

Yuri soon found himself in another dream, one where he, Yuto, Yugo and Yuya were having a picnic in the garden with Empyrean Magician, wearing clothes that resembled hooded cloaks and...were those  _ horns and wings _ too? On all of them?

They sat underneath some of the trees, on a blanket with different types of food laid out for the five of them. There were cups of tea, slices of fresh fruit, sandwiches, slices of bread with jam spread on top of them, and a stack of pancakes topped with syrup and fresh berries! Yuya couldn’t wait to devour those!

“Mineminemine!” Yuya shouted, taking three pancakes from the very top and placing them on his plate. He licked his lips. “MINE!!!!”

“Yuya, you have to share those with your family,” the magician chuckled, taking the top pancake all covered in syrup and biting into it.

“PAPA!!!!” Yuya whined and pouted as his brothers laughed at him. The man kissed Yuya’s nose, a wide smile on his face. 

Yuri watched the family as if this was an old movie pulled from inside his very soul. His breath hitched, and tears filled his eyes once more. He never experienced that at all. Never eating with friends in the school’s cafeteria or in the garden. He always ate alone, always jealous whenever he saw students eating together, laughing, talking and experiencing things he would never receive.

Zarc stood behind Yuri, hands gently resting on his shoulders as he walked the boy through his memories. Memories of the four boys being taught magic by Timegazer and Stargazer Magician, reading books in the library, all of them taking a warm bath with Empyrean Magician washing mud and other substances like flour or glue or whatever they decided to play around with out of their hair with such gentle hands, or how he would tuck them all to bed and kiss them goodnight, whispering how much he loved them.

“See this, my lily?” Zarc whispered softly in Yuri’s ear, lulling him deeper into what felt more and more like the sweetest of dreams. “Did the Professor ever give you this sort of happiness?”

Yuri could only shake his head dazed, happy memories returning to him, slowly but surely, weaving an entire new  _ \--old--  _ life for him right in front of his very eyes, with a voice so sweet it felt as if it was casting a spell on Yuri’s mind

“Did he ever hold you tight? Did he wipe your tears away?” 

No, that man never did any of those things.

“Leo Akaba and his daughter Ray separated us, took us away from each other. But now, now we are together once more. Remember, my sweet Prince of Fusion. The nights we slept together, the days we played together, rode our beloved dragons, how you flew with your own wings for the very first time.”

“Remember the Midnight Blue roses you would give to Yuto, the kisses and games you would give Yugo, the adoration and utmost love you gave our little Yuya.”

Yuri shivered as he kept remembering, the happiness he felt, the sweet smiles on the faces of the other boys (his brothers), the smiles of love, care and devotion for him and only for him! 

“Remember the promise we made to be by each others' sides. Remember the stories I read you, the determination in your eyes to protect your brothers from harm,” Zarc continued. “How you used to go to that secret place in the garden where you only allowed your brothers in, how you cared so much for your plants as if they were your friends. Remember it all Yuri, and come back to us whole, because it is time for Akaba to pay, for you to get your true treasures back.”

His golden eyes were glowing as he stated three words into the mind of his eldest son.  ** _Awaken, my son._ **

That phrase echoed in Yuri’s mind, over and over and over again. It was an order, a  _ command _ .  _ We do not disobey Father, we follow his every word. For Father’s love, we obey.  _

A shiver ran down Yuri's back, before finally looking at the man behind him, over his shoulder, it was...

“Wait...you're…” he whispered 

“Do not worry yourself," he said with the same loving smile that he'd had throughout the duel. "Just remember...remember everything, my sweet bloom,” Zarc whispered, and Yuri’s breath hitched. 

All sorts of memories and names filled his mind, an overload of a life that was once his. And in the center of it all was him, this figure that loved him and who he loved back. 

Yuri's eyes widened as he realized...as it finally dawned on him. He felt so  _ foolish _ to have resisted, to have fought, to have  _ disobeyed _ . 

“Father…” He breathed and raised his hand as if to touch the man’s face once more, to confirm that he’s real

“You remember now, don't you?” he asked with a tender smile on his face. As more and more memories rise, more tears fall down Yuri's face

He launched himself at Father, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist hugged him tightly “Papa! Papa don't go away again! Please. Pleasepleaseplease, Papa…please stay...” Yuri whimpered he finally reached to father, finally could ask and plead and beg for his father to not leave him.  _ Pleasedon’tleavepleasedon’tleave please don’t leave! _

“I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I didn't know any better…” He yelled, body shaking. “How...how could I...I threatened Yuya, wanted to hurt him, hurt my brothers, how could I be  _ forgiven  _ after that?! I'm sorry Papa! I’msorryI’msorryi’msorry I didn't mean to let you down. I didn’t mean to hurt them!”

“I know my love, I know. It's gonna be alright,” Zarc shushed him. 

“I said such horrible things to you, to my brothers,” Yuri whimpered and kept on crying. “You...you must hate me, don’t you?”

“Yuri,” Zarc whispered softly. “Shh now, look at me,” He gently cupped Yuri’s chin, and raised his head up. Golden eyes glowing. Yuri’s breath hitched; the more he looked into Father’s eyes, the more he could feel himself calming down, relaxing more and more. “That’s it my Darkest Bloom. Relax for me, let my voice calm your mind.” 

Yuri nodded, his eyes glazed over. He was breathing slowly and steadily, Father’s love filling his mind. It felt so good, numbing everything around him, only feeling Father’s love and will. Yuri panted slightly, he felt Father’s thumb running softly over his lips. He felt so happy, so relaxed. 

“I'm not mad or disappointed,” Zarc whispered, Yuri’s eyes glancing down at his lips as he talked, fangs stretched, so sharp that they would probably tear through his throat. “I will  _ never  _ be angry at you, my lily. You were manipulated by Professor Akaba. He preyed on your loneliness and twisted it so you became his pawn doing his bidding just for a simple iota of kindness he would give you.” Yuri’s eyes watered at that. It hurt for him to know that, no, the Professor never cared for him at all. “You’ve come back to me. You’re mine again, aren't you my Lily? Only mine.”

That’s right...he was Father’s precious treasure. The most beautiful possession of his father, Supreme Dragon King Zarc. Loved, protected, covered, possessed...just thinking of being such a blessed thing made him shiver in delight.

“Yours Papa, yours! Always and forever!” Yuri whispered, through the fog of bliss and love that drowned his mind. Zarc chuckled at ruffled Yuri’s hair. Yuri beamed at the touch.

“Just as it should be,” Zarc licked Yuri’s tears away and kissed his cheek. The younger boy gave a sigh. Zarc patted Yuri's back and kissed his forehead. “Come now, we need to return. Your brothers are waiting.”

“Please,” Yuri whispered, and Zarc looked at Yuri once more. “P...please don't leave me again, Papa.” 

“Never,” Zarc said with a loving smile. “I'm always a part of you, my lily. I promise.”

“Papa?” he asked softly, almost afraid to say anything after all that had come out of his lips before. 

“What is it, my lily?” Zarc questioned, ever so patient.

“K...kiss me more? Once more, please?” He whispered softly, hands shaking and clinging to his Father’s tunic. He wanted the affection, craved it, needed Father’s love once more. 

“Oh my sweet boy,” he said with a soft smile, hugging Yuri closer to him, kissing the top of his head, his forehead, down his cheek, all over his face, and Yuri relaxed more and more sighing happily, his knees became weak once more as he melted more and more in his father's embrace. 

“I…” Yuri said in a daze. “I love you, Papa. So… so much.”

Zarc kissed Yuri's forehead tenderly and lovingly, stroking his face gently “I love you too, my lily.”

And he held onto Yuri as the memories gave away into light.

…

…

..

Yuri’s eyes slowly fluttered open, returned back to where they were prior, with Starving Venom staring at him and him back in the arms of his brothers with six pairs of teary eyes were staring at him, waiting for his response.

Yuri looked around at the faces around him, and gave them, he was still held in their arms, and a soft loving smile formed on his face. “Hello, my treasures.”

His brothers all had tears in their eyes and big smiles on their faces. 

“You're back now. You're back, Yuri…” Yuya sobbed. 

“I'm back, my little ruby. You didn’t give up on me,” he kissed Yuya's forehead, “How can I ever repay you, ever make it up to you, the horrible things I said...”

Yuya shook his head, a tender loving smile on his face. “You’re back to us now, that’s all that matters, Yuri,” and the pink haired boy crushed his baby brother to his chest. 

He turned to Yuto, and caresses his cheek, “My Shadow Knight…” Yuto pressed his hand further into Yuri’s touch. The oldest brother turned to look at Yugo, “My summer breeze...please forgive me. I'm sorry for what I did, taking your treasures, confusing you for each other...I...I had no idea what I was doing…”

“We know,” whispered Yuto, kissing his brother’s palm

“We forgive you, Lily, we love you.” Yugo added, kissing Yuri’s cheek. 

“Cry it all out, Yuri. It's okay,” Yuya cooed, seeing the tears trickling down Yuri’s face. Tears of remorse, happiness, sorrow all blended into one.

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon purred, happy to see Yuri so happy. Yuri looked up and smiled.

“Thank you,” he whispered, removing his deck from his Duel Disk. 

And before Starving Venom vanished, it looked like, for just a moment, he smiled back.

  
  


“That bastard is gonna pay for what he did,” Yuri assured them. “It’s a good thing that mysterious biker stopped me from going after Serena and your treasure, Yuya. Else I would never have Awakened and remembered all of you.”

“Mysterious bi -- Mom?!” Yuya gasped.

Yuri blinked, “...Mom?” he asked confused. 

“She’s the coolest!” Yugo exclaimed. “She used to be part of this biker gang and she’s super nice and caring and cooks the most delicious breakfasts ever!“

“Why thank you, dear crystal.” A voice chuckled, causing the five to blink. They turned to see Yoko on her motorcycle above them, a smirk on her face. They all blinked up at her. The older woman got off of the motorcycle and removed her helmet. 

“Hello Yuri,” Yoko said with a kind smile on her face. “it’s so nice to meet you, in...better circumstances than you trying to kidnap Yuzu and Serena.”

Yuri just...really wasn’t sure what to say to that. 

“You’re...not mad at me for that?” he asked, bewildered.

Yoko sighed. “You? No. Professor Akabastard? Yes. Now come on; we should be getting out of here before we have Obelisk Force chasing us.”

Yuto looked around at the destroyed cameras, Reiji didn’t know what’s going on yet, but would’ve detected the large spikes of Fusion summoning emitting from Starving Venom Dragon, and they have to stick to the plan.

“I dropped Serena and Yuzu off at a campsite in the Jungle area,” Yoko said. “But we need to get going and find a place to rest.”

“Going? Where?” Yuri asked. 

“We had a deal with Reiji, mostly to get him off our tracks and have an easier time bringing you back,” said Yuto. “Reiji wants to use you as a source of information and as a bargaining chip.”

“And once he’s done integrating you, he would’ve tried to rewrite your memories so that you’d think you’ve always belonged in this dimension and in the LDS school,” Yuto added, not liking the idea of another Akaba messing with his older brother’s mind. 

“Hmm, I see,” said Yuri, a thoughtful look in his eye.

“You’d be protected from the memory thing of course thanks to Father, but...maybe we should find a way to hide you, maybe tell Reiji that you escaped…” Yugo trailed off. 

“Oh no no, no, I can work with that, actually.” Yuri said, tapping his chin in thought.

“Work with it? What do you mean by that?” Yugo said raising an eyebrow, which got him Yuri’s usual mischievous smirk. Yoko raised an eyebrow; she could see the similarities to that of Zarc.

“Don’t worry about it, just let me meet this Reiji and I’m sure we can...work something out.” Yuri smirked, licking his fangs. 

“R-right,” said Yuya, still a bit confused on what his brother was thinking. Yuri gave him a soft smile. 

“Well then brothers,” he said. “Do lead the way,” he whispered. 

“Hold on,” said Yoko, pulling out her cellphone. “Yuri, I need you to clarify something.”

“What’s that?” asked Yuri.

Yoko played the video she recorded on her phone, of Yuri teleporting and how Dennis  _ smiled _ at seeing the purple-haired doppelganger of Yuya. “Dennis Macfield is from the Xyz Dimension according to Yuto...so why was he acting so chummy with  _ you _ ? I also heard you tell him, and I quote, ‘Just go be useful somewhere else like in Heartland or whatever/‘”

Yuri blinked at how astute this woman turned out to be before looking at Yuto looking at the recording of the two talking in absolute  _ horror _ . Zarc widened his eyes; not so much in Yoko being so amazing but finally making the connection that was like an itch he just couldn’t scratch. So  _ that’s why _ Dennis was so familiar…

Zarc’s wrath immediately rose, shadows danced in anger and hatred, burning like a raging fire as the winds howled around them.

Yoko knew the signs around her; the monster realized it had been fooled and now it was furious.

The four boys’ eyes widened as they all felt their father’s anger rise, and Yuri couldn’t help but flinch in fear.

“W...well…” Yuri began. “Because he’s from Academia like me. We talked a little before he was sent on his mission a while back.”

Yoko narrowed her eyes, looking ready to crack her phone with how tight she gripped it. “What mission?”

“To be a spy in the Xyz Dimension and, when the time was right and once Ruri was found, signal to Obelisk Force to invade and then…” Yuri stopped talking as he realized what that meant.

Dennis green-lighting the invasion meant Obelisk Force entered his brother’s home, leaving it in ruins, carding anyone in their path for a “game” and leading Yuri to kidnap Yuto’s treasure!

Yugo looked wide-eyed in fear, afraid for his younger brothers’ sanity. Neither of them was going to take the news well.

Yuya felt sick to his stomach. Dennis  _ lied _ about being a big fan of Yusho and just pretended to get on his good side. Just like Sora...

Meanwhile, Yuto looked like he wanted to kill someone, his eyes had turned to slits his fangs, claws extended and scales started appearing on his face. Dennis wasn’t from Xyz at all...but from  _ Fusion _ ? From  ** _Academia_ ** ?!

_ “....” _

_ “Y...Yuto?”  _ Yuri asked, seeing the transformation. He could feel Yuto’s anger and wrath rivaling Father’s and he flinched again. And then he noticed Yuya’s eyes glowing.  _ “Y...Yuya?” _

Yuto’s fangs bit into his bottom lip and blood trickled down his chin.  _ “THAT TWO-FACED SMUG BASTARD!!!!” _

The ground seemed to tremble and quake as Yuto roared to the sky, tears forming in his eyes. Storm clouds formed above him, thunder roared loud enough to be heard across the city. Lighting flashed seconds later, causing people to question the sudden change in weather.

(And in the Ancient Ruins section, where Shun was dueling two Obelisk Force soldiers alongside Gongenzaka, he could hear that roar in his mind, and a shiver ran down his spine.)

Yoko wasn’t scared at Yuto’s transformation; she knew what this was about. And she didn’t blame Yuto for being so pissed off at the revelation. Seeing as she herself was a huge fan of Dennis -- for being so much like Yusho and just as handsome -- she couldn’t believe that she could’ve been so easily  _ fooled _ by him if she acting like an ignorant protagonist of a horror film.

Yuto panted, and Yuya put his arms around his shoulders to calm him down. “Shh, Yuto, it’s okay, it’s okay, you’ll get your revenge on him later, I promise,” he whispered softly, attaching his forehead to Yuto’s. The Xyz prince hugged his little brother closer, tears of rage and regret falling down his face which Yuya wiped gently. 

“That bastard…” Yuto gritted his teeth. “How...how could he  _ do such a thing _ ?”

“It’s not like we can ask him why out of the blue,” Yoko stated. “If he could teleport to the Xyz Dimension and to this dimension, he could easily teleport back to his if his cover is blown.”

“That’s true,” said Yuri. “We need to be careful and not let anyone know what exactly transpired tonight, or that I’m on your side, at least to anyone other than Reiji.” 

He looked at his little brother, still a little scared. Yuto was wrathful, and Yuri deserved any and all punishments Yuto and Yugo would want to give him. But he wanted to help. He placed his hands between Yuto’s shoulder blades right between where his wings would be, Yuto stiffened for a moment before relaxing his shoulders completely. 

“Yuto, I am sorry, no matter how little that is worth I truly am, and I will do everything I can to fix things.”

Yuto turned to him, eyes more sad than angry. “I know,” he said with a nod, extending his claws and placing his hand tenderly on Yuri’s cheek. The older brother flinched but didn’t move away, ready for Yuto to scratch his face into a bloody mess...only to have those claws caress his cheek tenderly. 

Yuri looked at his brother in surprise and shock. “You’re...you’re not mad at me?”

Yuto shook his head.“I’m happy you’re back with us now, Yuri,” 

At the sincerity of those words Fusion prince cried, looking at the love and tenderness in his brother’s eyes the one he had wronged most of all, still loved him, and cherished him. He placed his own hand on Yuto’s, pressing it into his cheek and nuzzling to it. 

Yuri then took a glance at Yugo, knowing how important Rin was to his summer breeze. “What about you, Yugo? You’re...not mad at me either?”

“No, my lily. I’m not,” Yugo answered, placing a kiss on Yuri’s cheek. Yuri’s cheeks turned bright pink at the gesture. “You had no idea; it wasn’t your fault.”

Yuri warily looked at Yoko and the stern look in her eye. He shivered; Yoko could be just as angry as Father! “You’re...not mad at me and what I did, are you?”

“Depends,” Yoko answered. “You also know that Sora Shiunin was sent here too?”

“Yes.”

“You have the intel on the more prominent figures looking over the Xyz Dimension?”

“I do.”

“You know of anyone from Academia that’s hiding in Synchro?”

“Indeed.”

Yoko smirked. “Good, because you’re going to tell us all of this over dinner.”

Yuri blinked. “Di...dinner?” 

“Yes that’s right,” she said with a firm nod. “Come on boys, and Yuto do put those claws of yours away for now. Save it to when you actually  _ need  _ to tear some bastard’s throat out.”

Yuto chuckled weakly. “Yes, Yoko Kaa-san.”

“All right!” Yugo cheered. “Kaa-san is making dinner!”

“Wait, how are you going to do such a thing?” asked Yuya.

“Simple,” Yoko chuckled. “We’re going home and you’re all going to help me cook some omelet rice.”

“Omelet rice for dinner?!” Yuya gasped. Aside from pancakes, Yoko made delicious omelet rice whenever he had Yuzu or Gongenzaka over for a sleepover. He was so excited; his brothers would get to eat mother’s sleepover omelet rice!

Yuri still looked skeptical about following but Yugo took his hand and squeezed. “Hop on, my lily,” he whispered softly and Yuri couldn’t help returning the loving smile and blush a bit. The five of them headed out. Yuri riding with Yugo on his D-wheel, while Yuto and Yuya rode with Yoko. 

Yuri wrapped his arms around Yugo’s waist and buried his face in his brother’s back, and now that the bond with Yuri was fully open, all four brothers happily sent each other loving and comforting emotions. 

_ “It’s okay. We’re here. We love you. We’ll never ever leave. We’re family. Always and forever.” _

Yoko sped off, winking at Yugo and Yuri as she did. Yuya waved good-bye and Yuto nodded his head.

And Yuri hugged Yugo tighter, placing a shy kiss on his shoulder.  _ “My summer breeze…”  _ he began shyly.

_ “Yes, lily?”  _ Yugo asked, confused.

Yuri pulled out the pink lily from his pocket, lifted the visor of Yugo’s helmet and tucked the flower in Yugo’s ear before kissing his cheek.  _ "I really am sorry, Yugo. I was very stupid and mean. I didn't mean it." _

And over the roar of the D-Wheel engine, Yugo smiled, placed the visor back over his face and replied.  _ “I know.” _

A tear fell down Yuri’s eye burying his face back in Yugo’s back, as the two followed Yoko back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again Blood Moon Fusion Dragon is an OC card belongs to me and Green_Phantom_Queen
> 
> GPQ: "Performapal Empyrean Magician" is an actual card and what inspired the creation of the Dragon Mages. Writing the entire duel was worth it just for that beautiful card alone.


	9. Chapter 7 (Part 1) Dinner and A Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're baaack. Hi guys. So chapter 7 Part 1 is here. 
> 
> GPQ and I would like to reiterate that we very much love Yoko and writing for her in this fic. 
> 
> We hope you enjoy this.
> 
> Now 
> 
> Warnings :
> 
> Yuri 
> 
> Yu-boys love. I'm not even kidding 3/4s of this chapter is the Yu-boys being super intimate with each other Like damn (We still regret nothing)
> 
> Major shift in personality. 
> 
> Mind Fuck because Yuri. Oh and Zarc. 
> 
> Consensual mind control

If there is one word to describe what Rin has been through in the past four months, it would be hell.  _ Absolute fucking hell _ , and the green haired Synchro duelist was sick of it. 

First she was kidnapped by a bastard with the same face as her best friend, with a dragon that looked just as fearsome as Clear Wing and it looked like it wanted to eat her whole. She swore if she saw that smug face again she was gonna say “Fuck dueling!” and just bash his face in.  _ Then  _ let’s see him duel her. 

She was locked in a motherfucking tower like a princess, with some guard calling himself Apollo, with a deck based about the sun and a personality that boasted that he was bright as it, and it had so much Fusion and ugh! Rin was gonna explode of how repetitive this has been: escape, duel Apollo, make a run for it, get captured, scream obscenities before she was thrown back into her prison. Rinse, lather, repeat. She  _ did  _ kick the bastard in the dick for good measure the last time he won their duel, and she does not regret that decision. Especially since the man always grimaced every single time they locked eyes now.

This was the sixth time she got out of the fucking tower and was running in the forest. And at this point she had made certain marks either on the trees or rocks to paint a certain path and hiding places away from the soldiers that keep being sent after her. 

If she met the piece of shit responsible for all that she’s been through she promised herself they wouldn’t be alive any longer. She’d find a way to make her monsters freeze him to death before taking a sledgehammer and turning them into shards that she would crush beneath her foot.

And then she would find a way back to the Synchro Dimension, back to her home, back to Yugo, make their plans to enter the Friendship Cup, win every single duel they had to go to in order to win, defeat Jack Atlas and then have their happily ever after as part of the Tops.

_ She missed Yugo! _ So much, so so much. She wanted to cry and tell him that she should’ve asked him to be with her on that night where she was captured. She wanted to apologize for being so annoyed with him sometimes, she wanted to sleep in his arms and he’d promise that nothing could ever separate them again. She missed everything about him: his bright smile, his unending energy, the stupid funny faces he makes, that pretty blush and freckles on his cheeks, the way he suported her, his stupid and rash decisions.  _ She wanted him back in her arms so badly. Her Yugo! _

But crying would have to wait. She could cry in Yugo’s arms after she got out of wherever she’s been trapped in.

As she was racing towards the forest, turning back to see if any Obelisk Force members were chasing her, she turned around to find herself crashing into someone. The two smacked into each other with a loud groan.

“Shit!” The second person stated. “We gotta hide!”

“We?” Rin repeated. “What do you mean by -- “

She never got a chance to finish that sentence as she was dragged into the bushes, just as three Obelisk Force soldiers arrived, began talking about splitting up, and then left. Rin sighed. That was too close.

“Hey,” said the person, helping Rin stand up. “Are you okay?”

“Get away from me!” Rin said, grasping the arm of whoever grabbed her. “Who the hell are you?!”

“I’m just about to ask the same thing myself,” the person answered. “And...why do you look so much like me?”

The other girl was right, she  _ did _ look so much like Rin. Similar face, similar eyes, even having a bracelet on their right wrist!

The green haired duelist narrowed her eyes, her expression mad. Everyone on this island had only been an enemy; even the boy with the same face as Yugo had put her in this mess, so a girl with the same face as  _ her  _ could very well also be her enemy. 

“So? Are you a pawn of fusion too?” the girl who looked like her asked, twiddling with a long strand of violet hair.

“‘Pawn of fusion?’” Rin asked still not trusting the girl. “Um, does  _ this _ look like something from Fusion?”

Rin pulled out a card,  _ Windwitch - Crystal Bell _ , her most treasured monster, and handed it to the other girl. Said other girl inspected the card before handing it back to Rin.

“Just wanting to be sure,” The other girl answered. “What is that monster anyhow?”

“It’s a Synchro monster,” Rin answered in a tone that would announce the weather. “Wait, you don’t know anything about Synchro?”

“Synchro? Where I come from, we only use Xyz monsters.” 

“What the hell are  _ Xyz monsters _ ?” Rin asked raising an eyebrow. The other girl with her face took a card out, and showed it to Rin, the card was black, and the stars where the level was stated were Grey and in the opposite side.  _ Lyrical Luscinia - Assembly Nightingale.  _

“Oh, huh, they look cool,” Rin said, handing the card back. “So I take it the two of us are in the same situation, running away from Fusion Bastards and most likely got chased by a boy that looked similar to one we knew and he had a giant fucking dragon that wanted to eat us whole, right?.” 

“That seems to be the case, yes, I’m Ruri Kourosaki,” the girl replied, extending her hand out. “And you are?”

“Rin, nice to finally meet a friendly face around here, even if it was my own.” Rin chuckled. “So, let me guess...you have a boy from where you’re at and you mistook the one who kidnapped us as them, right?”

“That’s...correct,” Ruri replied. “I was so scared, thinking why Yuto was in that cloak and trying to terrorize me with that dragon of his…”

“When I saw that bastard, I was gonna punch Yugo in the face for pulling that kind of sick stunt on me,” Rin admitted. “So...what’s this Yuto like?”

“Yuto? Oh he -- “ There was a small blush on her cheeks thinking of him. “He’s so nice and sweet and like a knight in all those stories I read.”

“I could say the same about Yugo on his D-Wheel like a knight on his trusty steed, riding on the roads without a care in the world,” Rin sighed. “I miss him so much.”

“I miss Yuto too,” Ruri added. “And Shun and Sayaka and Allen and Kaito too. I wonder how they’re all doing…”

“There you are!” 

The two girls turned to glare at the newcomers approaching them, more Obelisk Batards preparing to summon those Triple or Double or “how many heads are there?!” mechanical mutts. Those sons of bitches just couldn’t stand unleashing a pack of bitches on these girls.

“You shitheads again?” Rin growled. 

“Ugh, they just never give up,” Ruri said. “Looks like we’re going to have to get rid of them the hard way.”

As she said that, she activated her Duel Disk and drew five cards. This wouldn’t be the first time she fought these guys and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

At least, this time, she wouldn’t be dueling alone.

“So, Ruri?” said Rin, activating her Duel Disk. “Think you can give me a lesson on how Xyz summoning works?”

“Depends,” Ruri replied. “You mind giving me a lesson on Synchro 101?”

She answered Ruri with a grin. “Only if we survive.”

“LET’S DUEL!” 

*************************

“So Yuri,” said Yoko as she scooped a plate of hot steaming rice out of her rice cooker. “I’m glad that you’ll be staying with us for the night.”

Yuri nodded his head as he, Yuto, Yugo and Yuya were helping Yoko prepare dinner in the kitchen. Yuya was the one who helped his brothers point out where the ingredients were all while avoiding the animals in the house growling and yapping at them. Yuri didn’t know how to feel about all of this; everything to him from food to clothes to cards was handed to him on a silver platter. So the fact that he was going about, setting the table, figuring out how to chop and peel vegetables for the first time, even trying how to  _ crack an egg, _ was all so new to him. 

Yuya winced a little when Yuri slammed the egg on the counter, causing it to spill its contents out. He didn’t know whether to laugh or feel so sorry for Yuri picking out egg shell out of his palm.

“You have to do it gently,” said Yuya, taking a fork to lightly tap an egg so a crack formed on the shell. Then, he split the shell and an egg plopped onto the bowl, the yolk gold like the sun. “Try it out.”

Yuri nodded his head as he followed Yuya’s example. Two taps of the fork and an additional egg was added to the bowl. There was a soft smile on his face as he continued to do this for four more eggs.

Yuto smiled a little as he started grating cheese with a sturdy hand (“A secret ingredient I add to the omelette to give it a better  _ umami  _ flavor”, Yoko explained) when he heard someone sniffling. “Yugo?” he asked, seeing Yugo chopping something with a knife in hand. “Are you crying?”

“It’s the onions!” Yugo bawled, turning around to show that he was mincing a large onion. “That’s all it is! I swear!” He tried wiping his tears with his shoulder, his eyes burning. 

“Shh…” Yuto replied. “I’m not mad. It’s okay to cry…”

Yugo sniffled as he did his best to chop the onion as best as he could with blurry eyes. Thank goodness he was wearing gloves, else his fingers would be bleeding by now.

“That’s enough, Yugo,” said Yoko, seeing how perfectly minced they were. “You’re a natural at this.”

“Rin and I didn’t have that much money for groceries,” Yugo admitted, tilting the chopping board and using the knife to scrape the onion into a bowl. “So we had to learn not to waste food and learn to make do with whatever we could get our hands on...which usually wasn’t a lot.”

“You’ll always have enough food as long as you’re with me,” said Yoko, patting his shoulder. “Now, you mind helping me slice some bacon?”

And soon enough, the five quickly had all the ingredients needed to make the omelet rice ready and waiting. Yuto and Yugo looked in awe and Yuri looked in curiosity. He never had omelet rice before; nor did he ever actually see how it was cooked.

Yuya then noticed the slow cooker in the corner. “What’s in there, mom?”

“Oh, I asked Michiyo what type of food would go great with omelette rice a while back and he showed me this recipe from the Philippines,” Yoko answered, placing a pan on the stove and turning it to medium heat. “Pork  _ adobo _ \-- when pork is marinated in soy sauce, pepper and vinegar!”

“Smells good,” said Yuya with a sigh.

“And it’ll taste great when I get these omelets finished,” said Yoko, putting a bit of butter onto the pan. “All right, I can handle the cooking on my own; why don’t you help clean up the trash and wash the dishes? Then you can all watch  _ The Haunting Hour _ until dinner is ready.”

“Really?” asked Yuya. 

“Yeah, but not the super scary episodes like  _ Dreamcatcher _ or  _ My Old House _ or  _ The Perfect Brother _ or  _ Brush With Madness _ or  _ Afraid of Clowns _ or  _ Scarecrow _ or  _ Sick _ or --”

“Can you tell us with episodes we  _ can _ watch?” Yuto asked, not liking what type of horrors could come from the titles.

Yoko paused. After the fiasco with the last episode she chose at random, the last thing she needed was to traumatize them with some of the more...darker and depressing episodes. (Like that time Yuya suggested they watch  _ Catching Cold _ ...and then started screaming every time he heard the jingle of an ice cream truck as it passed by or  _ “Pop goes the weasel!”  _ for about a month)

“... _ Uncle Howee _ ?” Yoko suggested with a shrug. "It’s a goofy little episode that will defintiely won’t make you act like a bunch of zombies. After all, I  _ really  _ don't want what happened the last time to happen again.”

Yuri raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean 'last time'?"

"Ah you know, the usual possessed horror tropes of kids deciding that they’ll just off themselves so they could re...turn to their families in the afterlife and all.” Yoko answered, still trying to get the image of seeing Yuya, Yuto and Yugo’s...reactions to the ending of that particular episode of her mind. She picked up the sliced bacon and watched it sizzle in the pain before adding the onion.

Yuri looked shocked at the answer and none of his brothers were looking her in the eye. 

** _It's not as bad as Yoko-san is making it out to be..._ ** Yuri heard Father say with a soft chuckle before running his claws lightly in Yuri's hair. The simple action made the oldest boy shiver in delight, something he couldn't suppress, making him gasp out loud not used to that treatment yet

"Yuri? Something wrong?" Yoko asked, turning around to see the boy’s reaction. Yuri looked at her with red cheeks, embarrassed at the sound he made, but he couldn't help but close his eyes as Father kept running his claws through his hair, body trembling with pleasure. 

"Y-Yuri?" She asked worried. 

"It's fine," Yuya answered, noticing how Yuri was close to collapsing from these sensations.

Yoko frowned all while she kept stirring the onions and bacon in the pan with a wooden spatula. "Yuya, what’s fine about Yuri looking like he’s in the throes of ecstasy?" 

"It's just Father. He's running his claws through Yuri's hair, at the moment" the red and green haired boy explained.

Yoko raised her eyebrow. "You boys never reacted like that…" 

"Well, not in front of you," said Yuto. "And this is new to Yuri, his reactions are gonna be uncontrolled since he's not used to Father's touch anymore." 

“You  _ do _ know how you constructed that sentence doesn’t make it any less creepy…”

“What do yo….oh….” Yuto said, cheeks turning red.

By this time Zarc stopped the gentle strokes. He then gave Yuri a kiss on the forehead, loving how he looked in a happy daze, one of the happiest he’s ever felt in a long time. Yugo chuckled, walking to his older brother before giving him a small peck on his lips, making Yuri's smile widen and making him purr in delight and nuzzle to Yugo who happily nuzzled him back.

Yoko clicked her teeth; cats when they purr are cute. Boys purring due to invisible shadowy fathers hugging and cuddling them are  _ not _ !

“OK...how about we go old school with the traditional  _ Goosebumps _ ?” she said. “They’re the comedic cousin compared to the  _ Haunting Hour _ .” She added the diced carrots and rice into the pan as she thought about what would be the perfect episode for them to watch all while her sons began washing dishes and putting food away in cabinets above or below their heads.. 

“Let’s see… _ The House of No Return _ is a classic.  _ Stay out of the Basement!  _ is a horrifying concept that will leave you traumatized about plants.  _ Piano Lessons Could Be Murder?  _ Nah, that will make you be afraid of disembodied hands...” Zarc raised his eyebrow on that one.

After Yoko went on and on and  _ on  _ about different episode titles in the time that it took the boys to finish cleaning up, she snapped her fingers as she turned around. “Oh,  _ Shocker on Shock Street _ ! That’s a classic and the ending was much better than the book’s.  _ Much _ better.”

“Does that one contain evil mummies or the like?” asked Yugo, looking terrified with each and every title that came out of Yoko’s mouth (He didn’t like the sound of the episode called “Welcome to Dead House”).

“It’s basically about a girl and her close friend who love horror films and get to ride the rides of a famous park based on a horror movie company,” Yoko replied, adding ketchup and soy sauce to the fried rice. “Of course, they soon find out that  _ maybe _ , just  _ maybe _ , the monsters are real.”

“And…” asked Yuya, knowing that there was a twist to all of this.

Yoko’s eyes sparkled just like Yusho’s did whenever he was dazzling a crowd. “You’ll have to see it for yourself. DVD is on the middle shelf, third one on the right. First episode of Season 3. I’ll have dinner finished by then.”

“Okay then…”

Yoko smiled to herself as she heard the boys enter the living room, turn the television on and quickly heard the familiar piano tune that introduced every episode of  _ Goosebumps _ . 

Hopefully this wouldn’t end as a tragedy (especially since the characters at the end of the episode turn out alive).

******************

“Boys,” said Yoko, entering the living room with a smile on her face twenty minutes later. “Dinner’s ready!”

She took a glance at the television -- it was at the very end of the episode where Mr. Wright was in his lab, having taken the main characters of the episode (his daughter Erin and her best friend Marty) back there since they ‘malfunctioned’. The scene had Mr. Wright already preparing two replacement robots to test the rides…

Only for the original Erin and Marty to suddenly activate on their own. The scene then changed as they confront their “creator” about the idea of being discarded as the ‘robots’ stating that they didn’t want to be deactivated. 

_ “Everything wants to  _ live _ . _ ” Erin proclaimed with an unclipped tinny voice.

_ “Even robots _ .” Marty added with a hiss.

And despite the episode ending not quite where Yoko wanted, (It should’ve ended with a shot of Mr. Wright in fear as shadows reach out to him, damn it!) she was more concerned at what her sons thought of the episode as the credits rolled.

Yuya was clapping in mirth, Yuri and Yuto both had small smiles on their faces and Yugo had a satisfied grin on his. 

"So...I take it you liked the episode, huh?" Yoko asked, seeing the grins on her boys' faces. 

Yuya nodded happily. "We  _ loved it _ ." 

“That mean old dad deserved everything that’s coming to him,” Yuto said. 

“Everything…” Yugo growled.

_ “Every last thing… _ ” Yuri said with venom.

“O...ok then…” Yoko said. “Uh...let’s all go and have dinner then before I decide whether or not you should be watching either _Click _or _The Girl Who Cried Monster_ next...”

With a nod, the boys followed her into the dining room and looked down at their meals: an omelet stuffed with rice with that pork  _ adobo _ from earlier. Each omelette had a specific design drawn in ketchup just for them: a star for Yuya, a lightning bolt for Yuto, a diamond for Yugo and a rose for Yuri.

“Something I used to do whenever Yuzu or Gongenzaka joined us,” Yoko explained, sitting down at her own seat. Her omelet had a symbol of a winged heart on it. “Now come on, don’t look at me like that.  _ Itadakimasu _ !”

A blush dusted over Yuri, Yugo and Yuto's faces, the latter two still not used to how great and sweet Yoko was and Yuri just being plain bewildered by how nice she really is. Especially after he saw her jump down on her motorcycle and grab both Yuzu and Serena and then the entire conversation on the Ice in regards to Dennis being a traitor to the Xyz Dimension and most likely how she saw him breaking down in Father’s (Yuya’s) arms like a child. It was all a little too much for Yuri to wrap his head around. 

_ "Hey don't worry about it, _ " he heard Yuto said, and Yuri's head snapped to him to see the younger boy giving him an encouraging smile. 

_ "Yeah, Kaa-san is just awesome like that, and her food is the  _ best!" Yugo stated. 

_ "Don't be shy Yuri, eat," _ that was Yuya. 

A small smile stretched on Yuri's lips as he took the first bite.  _ It was really good!  _

He hadn't realized how hungry he was before this, and the four boys started devouring their omelets making Yoko smile. Michiyo was right; something from the heart was the best thing to cook for her boys.

The next few minutes were spent with everyone eating in silence, all while Yoko kept a firm eye on Yuri. She arrived back at the Iceberg section right around the time Yuya summoned the monster that looked like Zarc with the hooded robe -- Empyrean Magician Yuya called him -- and watched as Yuri went through a mental breakdown ala  _ Black Swan _ (a movie that she was not going to show Yuya until he got older) as he tried to downright  _ strangle _ said monster with his bare hands and even try to claw his own throat out, believing the kindness and love that Yuya and Zarc were giving him was fake.

She would have jumped in to stop before Yuri permanently broke down, but she might have made things worse so she stayed away for most of it. The kid obviously had issues, big ones. And she wasn't sure how best to handle him yet. She might need a talk with Zarc about him later. 

Just the thought of Yuri screaming and crying like that broke her heart even more. At least when Yuya cried it was based on the adoration he had for Yusho. Yuri cried because he never  _ had _ anyone show him love, kindness, affection...this made her goddamn sick to her stomach. Just what type of person was Professor Akaba to not even give Yuri emotional care? Yuri was worse off than Serena being unsure what a “high-five” was!

But if she wanted to open his heart to hers, she had to do it slowly...carefully. And then she would extend that hand to Serena after she became more comfortable with Yuzu. These kids shouldn’t have to suffer just because they were pieces of someone else.

“So, Yuri,” Yoko began. “What exactly do you know of Professor Akaba’s ‘plan’ to resurrect his daughter, Ray?”

Yuri spat out the water he was drinking and slammed his glass onto the table.

“Wait...daughter…?” He asked. “He’s going to resurrect her?!”

“It’s all true,” Yoko answered. “Your Father told me everything -- your mission to go after Ruri and Rin, and now Yuzu was because they all shared the same face and bracelets like that of Ray Akaba.”

Realization hit Yuri then and there and rage soared inside him. His eyes turning to slits, his face hardening, fangs and claws growing. "All this… " he growled. "For his  _ bitch  _ of a daughter?! And he used me for it…" he growled again, before pressing his hands on his head, as he felt an urge to rip into Professor Akaba’s throat. 

Seconds passed before his face twisted into a sadistic smile. "Oh, oh ho ho ho, that  _ bastard _ ," he whispered his sharp fang on display as a cruel smirk appeared on his face, making a certain sound that sent chills down Yoko's spine. "He's gonna pay for this."

“That will have to be for later,” said Yoko. “Seeing as you didn’t know what Professor Akaba’s  _ true _ plan is, what type of lies has he spun in you and everyone else’s head that involves invading dimensions and turning people into cards?”

Yuri swallowed, glad that he didn’t decide to go back to eating else he’d be throwing up at the side with what he was about to say next.

“It’s known as the Arc - V project,” he explained calmly, the image of the raging boy now gone and replaced by a calm and collected soldier. It made Yoko shiver how he could flip into these different personalities like that. “All I know is that the Professor needed the ‘natural energy’ of humans beings, so he developed a technology that could convert them into cards, like so.”

He pulled out two cards and set them on the table. Yuya gasped at who he saw.

“Aren’t those two exchange students from LDS?” he asked. “The same ones that were taking part in the Battle Royale?”

“Yeah,” said Yoko, recalling the horrified looks on Halil and Olga’s faces before a purple light consumed them and they were transformed into cards. She herself wanted to save them, but knew that would risk blowing her cover.

“That’s not the worst of it,” said Yuto. “Serena also carded another LDS student named Hokuto Shijima a couple of days ago.”

“That explains why he didn’t show up in his duel against Michiyo yesterday…” Yoko muttered.

"Akaba basically told us that by collecting this energy he will be able to reunite all the dimensions into one, creating a Utopia that he calls Arc - V. And that the four girls, Serena, Yuzu, Rin and Ruri are the key for it all to happen,” Yuri finished, looking at his brothers with sad pink eyes. 

"He already has Rin and Ruri," said Yugo, clutching his fists. “If he got Serena and Yuzu then we’re doomed!”

"It gets worse, Yugo," Yuri whispered, and all eyes turned to him. 

"How… how can things get worse?! " Yugo asked bewildered and angry. 

Yuri looked at Yugo and Yuto with sad eyes. "Your girls Rin and Ruri are… quite the persistent type. The Professor locked both of them in separate towers with a brother-sister duo to keep an eye on them. But despite that, the two of them have managed to escape at least 5 times each, and by the time I've been here, I just bet they managed to do it again."

Yugo and Yuto kinda looked proud and awestruck at the two girls. They knew that they were tough, but to face off against their guards that many times? 

"But…?" Yuya coaxed. 

Yuri sighed sadly. "But… their rebellious streak was getting on the Professor's nerves and has one of his followers someone by the name Doktor carry on his research in making this type of parasite that can basically mind control you, and he plans to use it on both of them."

“Wait...but if he could do that then...then…” Yuto felt like his heart was going to stop beating.

Yuri nodded his head. “He plans to inject parasites into Rin and Ruri’s brains, effectively turning them into his puppets and most likely use them to attack the two of you once they make it seem like they ‘successfully’ evaded capture.”

Yugo and Yuto couldn't breathe. 

“That means…” Yuya gasped. “If Yuzu was captured, then she’d...she’d also be…" 

Yuri said nothing, but that was all that was needed for Yuya to come to that horrifying conclusion.

And it was that moment that Yoko began to slowly back away from the table. She’s seen enough horror (and wrestling) to know that someone was about to flip the table and go berserk. She kept a good look at the glowing eyes of Yuto, Yugo and Yuya...at how their fangs grew so quickly like a bamboo shoot grows into a bamboo stalk, the claws that were scraping the tabletop and how it felt like all of them were kettles just ready to release their steam all while tears trickled down their eyes.

Lightning and thunder sounded, and the wind howled angry and destructive outside. They shook the entire city once more, waking up the people in the stadium covered in blankets all while Nico Smiley tried to explain that it was probably ‘technical difficulties’ with the Solid Vision.

(The noise was so loud that everyone that was in the Battle Royale looked around. From the little camping group to Gongenzaka and Shun, the latter of which was feeling like some sort of cord was about to snap in Yuto's mind, to Dennis and even Shingo who was desperately trying to prove his worth by searching for invaders) 

Yuri gulped. Never had he ever seen his little brothers so angry, so hurt, so sad before. It hurt him, it  _ hurt him _ so much. He was the older brother that was supposed to protect his little brothers from harm. And he failed them by going after their treasures and giving the enemy a chance to unleash his resurrection scheme.

He didn’t deserve any of this. Not Yoko-san’s love and affection or cooking. Not Yuto or Yugo’s forgiveness. Not even Yuya’s  _ smiles _ . For once, he wished he was back at Academia in his room; never had he felt like he truly wanted to crawl under the sheets into a tiny ball and hoped that he just disappeared from this world.

** _Yuri… _ **

_ "Ye… yes father?"  _ He swallowed and shivered. 

** _When were these parasites supposed to be put inside their minds? Are you aware? _ **

_ "I think… in four days. But with the two of them escaping it would probably take longer."  _

** _I see...Good, then all will be well. _ ** Father said running his claws through Yuri's hair once more before he sounded a command.  ** _Enough._ **

The glowing eyes stopped and the three raging boys froze in place eyes wide. The storm ended quickly, and the three boys collapsed back on their chairs, just frozen. Yugo was the first to react, burying his head between his arms and resting it on the table as he began to sob softly, tears spilling down the table like water. 

_ "Wa… what just happened?"  _ Questioned Yoko as all three suddenly lost all their rage, at least outwardly.  _ “Oh wait, Yoko. Zarc just happened… He really has that much control…?” _

Claws ran through Yugo's hair and the boys gasped straightening up, and looking up to see Zarc there. 

"Papa…" Yugo sobbed and threw himself at his father who hugged him and started shushing him softly, before opening his arms to Yuto who gladly threw himself at his father, crying on his shoulder and sobbing in his embrace. 

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm here, I'll fix everything I promise," he murmured softly prepping Yugo and Yuto's faces with kisses, hugging them tight. 

The boys stayed in Zarc's embrace until their sobs died down, and the two were just lying in Zarc's arms cuddling him, eyes still sad, as if any moment they'll break down again. 

“I can’t lose...I can’t lose Rin like that,” Yugo sniffled. “No, please...we have to do something…!”

“Ruri...Ruri…” Yuto mumbled. “How...how could this  _ happen _ ?”

"Shhh, my beautiful boys, Father has a plan. Don't worry, I promise I know exactly what to do," he said softly rubbing the boys' backs gently. 

Yugo sniffed again. "Y-you do?" He asked looking at his father's eyes with his own, pleading his father to be honest. He didn’t want to believe only to find out that Rin was now working for Akaba and didn’t care for him anymore. Zarc's soft loving smile greeted him, and the bracelet on Yugo’s wrist winked for a moment. Yugo and Yuto's eyes glanced back at them and realized what their father was referring to. 

"Are…are you sure it'll work?" Yuto asked. 

"Of course I am," Zarc assured his sons, wiping Yuto and Yugo's tear stained cheeks. "That Doktor and Akaba might like to pretend that they're mighty animals. They like to see themselves kings of the jungle and that all must bow before their will. But insects are insects, and they  _ will  _ be crushed." 

“So those bracelets  _ are _ involved in this,” Yoko muttered, recalling Yuzu’s own bracelet. 

“Indeed they are, Yo~ko-san,” Zarc chuckled, taking Yuto’s wrist and lifting it in the air. “Yuya, you’re fully aware that Yuzu’s bracelet was glowing whenever you were in close proximity to Yuto, right?”

Yuya nodded; now that he could see into Yuto’s memories, it made much more sense that Yuto was always vanishing right around the time he would appear. Like when Yuya entered the warehouse that first night and Yuzu thought that he was already there and having kicked Shingo’s ass in a duel. The bracelet always reacted whenever they were in close proximity...most likely it was Ray’s wish so that the boys never knew about one another.

_ So  _ that’s _ why Yuto and Yugo aren’t allowed to go near Yuzu then. _ Yoko thought.  _ But are there any powers in Serena’s bracelet too? _

"So what will these bracelets do?" Yoko asked raising an eyebrow. 

Zarc smiled. "They're a sort of protection, each one enhanced with my power, which will protect the girls from harm. And unlike their bracelets from Ray, these ones  _ will  _ be useful." Zarc explained omitting  _ how  _ these bracelets would protect the girls. 

“So they’re like magical amulets used to protect innocent girls from demonic possession or something?”

"Yes you could say that," he said with a chuckle. There was Yoko and her horror analogies. "I promised my boys to return these girls to them safe and sound," he rubbed his nose with Yugo's making the young boy giggle. "And I intend to keep that promise," he ran his claws in Yuto's hair, who pressed himself to Zarc more. 

Yeah…no, something didn't add up to Yoko. 

Innocent maidens usually wore amulets that were blessed with  _ holy _ magic and spells of protection. Why would Zarc want to give bracelets that were enhanced with  _ darkness _ ?

First the dragons given to Yuya and Serena, now pretty little trinkets given to innocent maidens? That usually summed up as possession, corruption or mind control, or perhaps they’ll drain the life force out of the girls… no wait Zarc doesn’t want to harm the girls’ whatever the case is he does love their boys and would never do anything to hurt them.

But even without that last one, Zarc was no better than the Professor in what he wanted to do with Rin and Ruri!

"Is there something about the bracelets that I  _ don't  _ know?" Yoko asked narrowing her eyes at Zarc, Yugo and Yuto both had rested thief heads on the crock of their Father's neck looking happy and content for now. 

“Just because I’m based on darkness, you automatically label me as  _ evil _ , don’t you?” Zarc questioned. “Oh, that’s so  _ common _ of you humans. Given your love of horror, wouldn’t  _ I _ immediately call you evil,, Yoko-san?”

“Leave my hobbies out of this!” Yoko snapped. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let's just say you embody far too many tropes for my liking. So I do have to wonder..."

"The bracelets are perfectly harmless for the girls, and unlike these parasites, the girls will have their own will, not be mindless slaves to my whims. Does that ease your mind Yoko-san?" He placed another kiss on Yugo’s forehead. 

“What about the dragon you gave Serena and Yuya?” Yoko questioned. “Why exactly would they have dragons that don’t fit their decks?”

“Ohhh...that…” Zarc replied. "It's simply monsters to empower their decks and make them stronger. Yuya needed an Xyz monster to fight off against Kachidoki’s Level-based Fusion monsters, so I gifted him with Black Mirror. Serena always used the Lunalights monsters, so all her strategies are known to Academia; the new addition to her deck simply gives her an advantage.”

"What about the other dragons? Odd-Eyes, Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing and Starving Venom...why do your sons even have  _ dragons  _ in the first place?”

"I am the Supreme Dragon King Yoko, it's in my name. Those four were by my side when I ruled the Spirit World.They were my constant companions and friends. And when my sons were born, these dragons imprinted themselves toward them and promised to protect my little ones with their lives."

“Speaking of which…” Yoko said, flashing back to Yuya’s unexpected win against Strong Ishijima. “Was this ‘Pendulum Summoning’ your doing too? There’s no logical way for Yuya to just  _ unexpectedly _ unleash that type of summoning before. And it’s caused us a lot of grief with the Akabas since they wanted to essentially use our school as a factory to produce even  _ more _ cards and make themselves even more powerful than they are because they’re the  _ only _ school in the world to teach Fusion/Synchro/Xyz. Selfish bastards... .”

“Ah...nothing ever escapes your watchful eye, Yoko~” Zarc purred. “Yes, Pendulum Summoning was a method I recently created in order to fight off against Ray. She herself was a brilliant duelist, mastering Fusion, Synchro and Xyz...but if she should  _ ever _ find herself resurrected, then I have a secret weapon for her that not even  _ she _ would be able to defend against.”

“Well, given how much suffering she’s causing I guess that makes sense. Although it would’ve been nice if it came with an  _ instruction manual. _ ”

“Glad that you see things my way…” Zarc chuckled as a soft blue light shone over his heart. 

“Oh, one more thing,” said Yoko, pointing to the pendulum over Zarc’s neck. “That pendulum is Yusho’s. If I ever find that you either replace that or fill it with dark magic...I will  _ end you _ . You may be Yuya’s original father, but Yusho was the father who raised him in this life.”

Zarc raised the pendulum to his eye level. "What a nice gift," he mumbled, seeing into Yuya’s memories of when he received this for his fifth birthday, how Yusho swung it back and forth over a sunset, that one time it somehow got stuck in a tree. "And don't worry, I promise that this pretty little pendulum will not be a factor in any of my plans." 

“And if I ever see you use that pendulum to  _ hypnotise anyone... _ .” 

Zarc simply smirked; Yoko watched too many movies. 'As if I would ever need it for that, _ "  _ he replied as he nuzzled Yuto who purred in response hugging Zarc tighter. 

Zarc turned his smile to his fourth son, hiding in his chair, looking so small and pitiful, wanting to be in that embrace and being kissed and petted and soothed...but he felt like he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve  _ any  _ kind treatment at all. All he wanted to do was use his Violet Flash card to disappear somewhere, anywhere that didn’t involve these five looking at him with sympathy and empathy and forgiveness.

"Yuri," Zarc called to the oldest boy. “Are you all right?” 

But Yuri’s reaction was to suddenly rise out of his chair and run upstairs, hoping to find a bedroom to hole himself in. Seconds later, everyone could hear a door slam loud enough for the animals to, again, run around in terror. Yugo and Yuto's heads snapped back looking at Yuri run away and both whimpered, wishing to tell Yuri that everything would be all right.. 

"Shhh, it's okay," Zarc whispered, patted their heads. “I know exactly how to make our lily happy again," both boys got off of their Father's lap. He then turned to Yoko and sighed. "If you'll excuse us Yoko-san, I think we'll retire for the night. Thank you for all that you’ve done today." 

“I guess that means no more  _ Goosebumps _ tonight,” Yoko muttered, seeing Yuri’s empty plate. The boy ate everything; not a single scrap of food was left, so at least he appreciated her cooking. “I’ll stay here and clean up. Why don’t all of you go upstairs and keep Yuri company?”

“Thank you,  _ kaa-san _ ,” Yugo whispered.

“Oh and before you go Zarc,” Yoko placed a hand on Zarc’s shoulder and stared into his eyes. “I would like a personal talk with you in regards to Yuri tomorrow morning while Yuri is off being ‘interrogated’ by Reiji.”

“What for?”

Yoko sighed. “I want to know exactly what happened to him to make him feel like he’s been living with an abusive parent all these years. If there’s anything you can give me, do so. He’s not my biological son, but I want to  _ love him _ like he is. So please, at least do this if not for me, but for Yuri’s sake.”

Zarc smiled softly. "Of course Yoko-san, anything for my son's happiness. Now then, it is time for us to go to bed. Good night then." 

He took Yuto and Yugo’s hands into his own and lead them upstairs. Yoko watched them as they stood in front of the door to Yuya’s room, feeling uncertain, anxious, hopeful, weary…

She knew that things had gotten much more complicated now that she knew just  _ what _ Akaba had in store. If Reiji and his mother ever heard about this, well, given how their cruel business practices and their apathy, she could tell that they’d want to turn these boys into their personal  _ weapons _ against the threat of Academia.

They already made Yusho go off on this idiot spree and look where it got him! Three whole years and no success in telling Akaba to stop what he’s doing, a destroyed dimension and three years of grief in her and Yuya’s heart.

So if their initial plan didn’t work out, what’s to say that this one would?

Yoko sighed. There wasn’t anything she could do now except make the house spic and span and then get some sleep. So she set herself to work in cleaning up the dishes, putting all the food away as leftovers for the morning, washing the dishes until they were nice and dry, and then going to the living room to turn off the television. As she stared at the Episode Guide still pointed at the episode the boys finished watching almost an hour ago. She clicked her teeth as she picked up the remote control.

“This has been quite a  _ Shocker on Shock Street _ .”

And with a press of a button, the television turned black.

*********************

How Yuri easily found Yuya’s bedroom was beyond him. But he wasted no time in entering it, slamming the door shut, locking it tight and then placing his back against the wall.

“Yuri!” said Yugo, knocking on the door. “Open up!”

“It’s us!” Yuto pleaded. “Please let us in…”

“Go away!” Yuri shivered, sliding until he sat against the door, hugging his knees tight. “I don’t want to talk to any of you…”

"Yuri, open the door, darling, Father wants to talk to you," Father called soft but firm. 

Yuri whimpered, clutchIng his head. Struggling between obeying Father and the stubborn desire to be alone again. No, he didn’t truly want to be alone, but that’s what he deserved. Because he didn’t  _ deserve  _ Father’s love, or his brothers’ love or Yoko-san’s care. 

He deserved to be locked up like the animal he was. Snarling, mad, to be mocked at, to be laughed it…

**“Yuri. I want you to open the door for me, now,”** Father’s voice sounded, powerful, consuming and compelling. Not at all angry, never ever angry at his sons, but firm.  **“I am coming in either way my precious. But I ** ** _want you _ ** **to open the door for me.” **

No more, Yuri couldn’t disobey any longer. He rose on shaky legs and unlocked the door opening it, face stained with tears as he was face to face with his family. Yuto and Yugo smiled and Father knelt down with wide arms. 

Yuri couldn’t stand the look on the faces of his father and of his brothers. Those eyes shining with pity and understanding...he hated that look, absolutely  _ hated that look _ ! He wanted to jump out of the bedroom window just so those haunting looks could all go away!

The hand grasping on the door knob trembled, unsure whether to keep the door open or to slam it shut. Zarc caressed his face gently wiping the tears away and Yuri broke sobbing harder, falling to his knees. 

This was too much for Yuri. Too much kindness, too much love and care and softness and he shouldn’t have any of this. Not after what he’s done! 

Zarc stood up and picked Yuri from the ground before he settled them both in the nest. Yuto and Yugo decided to forgo the pajamas so that they could be there to give their older brother the love he deserved.

“Father…” Yuri sniffled, wrapping his arms around Zarc’s waist. “I...I'm so sorry...I...I said horrible things to you and Yuya and...and took Yugo and Yuto's treasures away so that Akaba can revive Ray...I don't...I don’t deserve your forgiveness or love. Not Yuya’s, not Yuto’s, not Yugo’s and not...not...”

Zarc wrapped his arms around Yuri back, hugging the crying child to his chest, and kissing his forehead. “Shh…” he said “No more tears, Yuri...this is a happy time for us… You’re back in our arms now, father is so happy you’re back,” he said before kissing his neck softly and licking Yuri’s pulse point, making the boy shiver. “Come my lily…” he cooed, stroking the boy’s violet hair in an attempt to calm him down. “Here, let me take you to a happy place…” 

Licking his fangs, Zarc bit Yuri's neck, and the younger boy arched his back and gasped as he felt all conscious thought slipping away, his body becoming numb from Father’s fangs sinking into his neck. It felt so good. A smile formed on his face as he felt his Father’s love, protectiveness and possessiveness towards him fill him up like his mind was an empty glass. 

All Yuri could do was pant at the sensation, his eyes were glowing and there's already drool trickling down his lips. He couldn’t even say anything; he's just so  _ happy  _ right now

Zarc chuckled as he ran his claws through Yuri’s purple hair. “You were always Papa's most obedient child, my little Bloom. And you still are, aren’t you?”

“Y...yesssss...Papa~” Yuri replied, slurring his words.

“That's my little boy,” Zarc smiled and kissed his cheek. “You did some bad things, but don’t be sad. Papa forgives you, Yoko-san forgives you, and your baby brothers forgive you too. We love you my dear lily, and we’re so, so happy you’re safe now.”

Yuri gave a sigh, snuggling further into Zarc’s chest and whimpering softly. He didn’t deserve such love, kindness or affection yet it was given to him unconditionally. Yuri always strived to gain even a smile from the Professor’s hardened face and nothing ever pleased him.

“Boys,” Zarc called to Yuto and Yugo, “Why not give Yuri a hug to show you that there are no hard feelings? And to show him how much his family still  _ adores  _ its beautiful bloom?”

Yuto and Yugo complied, embracing their older brothers, letting their hands and lips give comfort in their own way. Both boys kissed Yuri, lips trailing feather light kisses all over his cheeks, hands roaming his slender body, trying to give comfort and love to their older brother. 

Zarc licked Yuri’s ear like it was a sea-salt caramel. “Papa missed you my little Bloom, and so did your baby brothers,” Yuri shivered, tears started falling down his face. “It was always your job to help me take care of them remember? You always helped papa keep them happy, just like they and papa always made  _ you  _ happy.”

“But I...made them so sad…” Yuri whimpered, tears in his eyes. “I hurt them. I failed in protecting them, I took away their treasures and put them in the hands of Akaba. I yelled at you, I tried to  _ strangle _ you...I wanted you all gone! I'm a bad older brother, a bad  _ son _ ! I’m the worst, a demon, a  _ monster _ …like everyone at Academia said...” he sobbed.

Zarc just gave Yuri’s forehead a small kiss, resisting the urge to appear in Academia to torch the place alive for how it treated his son. “You’re not a monster, my precious lily. You are my brave and powerful son. Yes, you did some wrong things, but you can fix them. You can always make your baby brothers happy again, and you’ll stay forever in our arms where you belong. Everything, everything will be okay, and you’ll do  _ perfectly _ . I know you would. ”

Yuri nodded his head, believing in his Father’s words that he could make things right again. “Y-Yes Papa,” he gasped as Yugo kissed down his neck.

“Good boy…” Father whispered and gave him another kiss. ”My Darkest bloom, my Lily, my precious boy.” Father kissed his cheek, again, and again and again, delivering even more love and possession through the bond, it made Yuri gasp and arch his back, it felt so good so so good, back, back in Papa’s arms, in his brothers’ arms.

Yuto licked down his neck, and started taking off the cape and shirt he was wearing. Yuri gasped and panted, unable to think straight. All he could feel was pleasure as if he was floating downstream in a river of pure love and bliss. ”Ah...I....ahhhh…” 

“Hmm?” asked Zarc, tilting his head. “What is it, my Lily?” Father gave more and more kisses. His forehead, his eyelids, the back of his ear. 

“Ahhhhh…” Yuri sighed, eyes glazed over. “So...goood....”

He faintly heard Father’s beautiful voice chuckle. 

“Sooooo happpyyyy…” Yuri replied. It was getting harder and harder to talk.

“Just as it should be, Yuri…” Yuto replied while Yugo kissed his cheek.

Zarc ran his hand through Yuri's hair. “Do you now remember what to do to make your baby brothers happy Yuri? To show them that you love them dearly?” he whispered huskily into Yuri’s ear.

Yuri tried to concentrate, but it was like all the sparks in his mind were starting to dim. “I...ah...must....”

Feeling these sensations for the first time in years was overloading him. He was not drowning in them, he was completely submerged, unable to breathe. Fourteen years, fourteen  _ years  _ without even an iota of affection, and now he was back to father’s arms whose love knows no bounds, nothing could compare to Father. Yuri knew deep down that soon enough he was about to break. 

And he would  _ love it _ .

Yuto and Yugo did not let up on the kissing and touching and nuzzling, sending him their own feelings of love and understanding and forgiveness. And Zarc's bond added to the feelings just pulsing in his mind and he's crying and he's so happy.

_ So good...so gooooodddddd.... _

His family was quick to reply on giving him affection. Zarc swiftly licked his tears while Yugo and Yuto continued their kisses on his lips and neck.

Yuri’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. He couldn’t speak now, but in his mind he could convey exactly what he wanted even though he wasn’t physically aware of what he was thinking or why or how except he just wanted everything.

_ Sogoodsogoodsogood, moremoremoremore lovelvovelovelove…. _

_ More?  _ Yugo asked with a wry grin.

_ More~  _ Yuri whined with a nod of his head.

Yuto chuckled.  _ Sure, we’ll give you more. _

_ MORE~~~ _ Yuri replied.

As if on command, Yuri’s mind became flooded with more feelings from Father and his brothers. He wanted to call them something else, but the names were just out of reach.

If Yuri could, he'd be screaming, but he just thrashed about, his mind unable to form coherent sentences. All that was in his mind were the same thoughts of wanting more, wanting love, wanting his brothers, wanting Father, wanting to stay happy and full of beautiful beautiful bliss.

Yugo was swallowing his screams and kept on kissing him until Yuto took over and did the same, tongue entering Yuri’s mouth, ravishing his older brother, removing any stray thoughts that weren’t  _ ‘more, or love, or treasures or them’  _ . When Yuto finished, Yugo would return. They’d keep kissing him over and over and over again to ensure that Yuri’s thoughts were on his family giving him this love without any strings attached.

_ Moremoremoremoremoremore…. _ That was all Yuri’s thoughts were, one word that eventually transformed into a throbbing rhythm that needed no translation to what he wanted.

Yuya wished he could do that to Yuri, but he just sent his mental thoughts of how happy he was to see Yuri again. He just wanted to make his big brother happy.

“There, that's a good boy. Your baby brothers are showing you how much they love you. You're going to show it right back. Won’t you, precious thorned rose of mine? Your treasures are here by your side to love you forever and for you to love them back just as equally,” Zarc whispered. 

Yuri nodded his head...Well, he would've nodded to anything just as long as he felt this pleasure

_ You know how to, back in your mind, you remember how to right? _ Zarc inquired.  _ You'll show your brothers just how much you love them, not just by getting them their treasures back but just like old times in our castle. You’ll show how much you love them, love me above all. just like I love you boys. You will, won't you my Yuri? _

Yuri nodded his head, tears in his eyes, clawing onto Yuto or Yugo or whoever it was kissing him at that moment. He was just in his happy state of mind and he never wanted to leave. It’s been too long, too long. 

Zarc pressed his forehead onto Yuri’s. “That's my good boy, my first Heir. The most beautiful Rose in my life. Papa's so happy he got you back.” 

Feelings of satisfaction and possession entered Yuri's mind. More love from Father. _ more more more _ being sent to this beautiful lily, thorned rose, dark bloom.

Yuri was so close to passing out at this point, but he held on, because he wanted MORE. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he just has his hands roaming about for anything to touch while Yuto and Yugo licked his neck, his chest, his cheeks wanting to make sure Yuri burned it in his mind that he is loved and forever will be loved.

Finally, after so much teasing, Zarc placed a soft kiss on Yuri’s lips...and that breaks him.

Yuri was screaming in his mind, like glass shattering. This bounced back into the minds of his brothers; they could feel how intense Yuri has felt everything.

Zarc moaned in satisfaction. His lily’s mind was blank and free of thoughts, only sensations of love and desire remained. “You did so well, my perfect boys.” Zarc purred praising his sons. 

Yuto and Yugo laid beside Yuri, panting, feeling the aftereffects, cheeks flushed, eyes glassy, smiling dumbly.

Zarc chuckled again. “Your big brother is all ours now, safe and sound. You showed him so much love. I'm proud of you my darlings, you did so well.”

_ “Thank you father…”  _ Yuto replied, still panting. 

_ “Anything for Yuri…”  _ said Yugo much in the same state as his little brother. 

Zarc sighed in satisfaction, seeing his sons blissed out and their eyelids about to drop. “Rest my babies. You all deserve it now

Yuri’s eyes were half-mast, mouth open with a big wide grin on his face and drool trickling down his chin. “ _ Soooo...goood...papa~” _

Zarc smiled and patted Yuri’s head.  _ I’m so happy to see you happy, my precious lily... _

“Get some rest Yuri,” Yuto said placing a kiss on Yuri’s cheek. 

“You deserve it,” Yugo whispered nuzzling to his brother’s chest. 

Yuri shook his head. He didn’t want to sleep just yet.  _ ...Pa...pa…’  _ he called out.

** _‘Yes my Yuri? What is it?_ ** ’ Zarc asked, patting Yuri’s head.

_ ‘B...brothers~ Goood~ Want to make them feel good~ _ ’ Yuri whined.

Father licked Yuri's neck.  ** _‘ Soon. You’ll get to make them feel as good as we did to you very soon.’_ **

Yuri whimpered. ‘ _ Papa~ Nowwwwww~ wanna make brothers feel good now….’ _ ’

Zarc chuckled before licking Yuri’s neck again and kissing it.  ** _‘But I don't think you can even move your fingers right now, dear Lily.’_ **

Yuri pouted before trying to move a finger and prove Papa wrong that he can make brothers feel good. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t as if his body was made of lead. ‘ _ PAPA~~~~’  _ he whined.

Zarc chuckled. Yuri could be so stubborn sometimes!  ** _‘Yes lily~?’_ **

_ ‘Brothers~~~~’ _ Yuri replied, reaching out for his brothers. 

Yuto responded to the cry with a kiss on the other side of Yuri’s neck.’  _ Don’t worry.’ _

_ ‘We're here, Yuri.’  _ Yugo replied, trailing his tongue down Yuri’s chest.

Yuri panted. ‘ _ Yes~ _ ’

**_‘Good boys, making your brother feel loved, and adored that’s it’_** Zarc praised, giving Yuto and Yugo a shower of approval that made them shiver.

_ I wanna give Yuri happiness too! _ said Yuya, wanting to hug and kiss his older brother.

** _‘Why yes of course, my little shooting star!_ ** _ ’  _ Father gave up the control and Yuya was back mind and body, dispelling the illusion and bringing back the youngest brother of the four..

It was enough to snap something in Yuri’s mind. ‘ _ Ruby~ Ruby~ _ ’ He was so happy and grateful to have his ruby back.  _ Ruby is back! Ruby is back! Missed Ruby so so much! _

Yuya mewled in happiness as he felt Yuri’s love and glee at seeing him back. The youngest boy attacked Yuri's lips, kissing him deeply. ‘ _ Big brother big brother... Bigbrotherbigbrotherbigbrother!’ _

_ ‘Rubyrubyrubyruby…’ _ Yuri replied just as happy. 

_ What about us Yuri?  _ asked Yuto, pretending to feel like he was being left out.

_ What did you call us?  _ Yugo added.

Yuri whined, struggling to remember. His mind was hazy with pleasure and love _ lovelovelovelove.  _ Words were so hard to remember! So he concentrated hard, picturing his brothers and what he said to make them happy. ‘ _ Shadow knight, my summer breeze! _ ’ He finally got it! He was so proud of himself.

' _ Good job Yuri!'  _ Yuto cheered. 

' _ We're so proud of you~!'  _ Yugo nuzzled Yuri's face happily, Yuri giggling in delight. He wanted his brothers, to hug them closer, kiss them, bite them, make  _ them  _ feel good and loved. 

_Want brothers...want hug~_ _want kisses, Want papa want all please want everything wantwantwantwantwant want treasures...want treasures! _Yuri stated, his mind overloaded with so much desire for his family..

Yuya giggled and placed soft kisses all over Yuri’s faces. He remembered the times when the roles were reversed, when Yuya asked Yuri for kisses whenever he got scared.

'  _ Yay~!'  _ Yuri squealed, wanting to move and hug and kiss his beautiful ruby so bad. 

Yuto proceeded to run his tongue over Yuri’s body until it was resting at his hip. Yugo decided to pepper his older brother’s chest with sloppy kisses.

_ Brothers make me feel good~ _ Yuri thought, sighing at all of the affection.

'Y _ es we do _ .' Yuto agreed.

'Y _ ou always made us feel so good too!'  _ Yugo added.

_ 'We can't wait for you to make us feel good _ !' Yuya stated excitedly.

' _ Want to make...treasures...brothers...good so good _ .' Yuri panted in his mind, his thoughts short circuiting even more as his brothers kept kissing him and purring in his ears. 

Yuya kissed behind his ear once more, licking it softly like it was a sweet candy. ‘ _ You don’t remember how to do it, though. But don’t worry...we’ll remind you.’ _

' _ You’d bite us, make us feel so good and remind us of your love and father's love. Then we'd turn into puddles of pleasure all lost in a haze of lust and love. All thanks to you _ …' Yugo moaned in Yuri’s ear, reminding him of what he would usually do to them. He licked his fangs and nibbled Yur’s neck a little, teasing him and demonstrating just what Yuri would give to them.

' _ Bite~ Wanna bite~'  _ Yuri said in a hurry, wanting to make his brothers feel good and love him more. If he gave them pleasure too, they'll never ever leave him! 

' _ I highly doubt you can bare your fangs right now'  _ Yuto teased. 

Yugo and Yuya laughed and Yuri whined before he opened his mouth as wide as he could.

‘ _ BITE!!!’  _ Yuri shouted, wanting to prove that he had his fangs out.

Yuya took a good look at Yuri and tilted his head. _ Sorry Yuri, I don't see fangs right now. _

‘ _ BITEBITEBITE WANNA MAKE TREASURES FEEL GOOD SO GOOD WANNA BITE LOVE LOVE LOVE’  _ Yuri whimpered, wanting to show love to his brothers too. Tears filled his eyes as he flailed about, sad, confused, filled with love and pleasure and wanting to give this love and pleasure to his treasures.

' Shhh...we're not going anywhere…" Yuya whispered softly in his ear. 

_ 'Wanna show treasures love. Want brothers to stay. Mineminemine _ .  _ Brothers mine, ruby mine, Knight mine, breeze mine. ALLMINEALLMINEALLMIIIIIINNNNNNEEEE!' _

Tears filled Yuri’s eyes as he tried to bite Yuya’s neck. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t make his ruby feel good. He whimpered, tears filling his eyes, wanting to cry. Why couldn't he make his treasures feel good? Why why why? 

Yuya shushed his older brother softly, kissing his cheek before nuzzling his face. He then proceeded to give Yuri’s neck a few kisses as he licked his fangs. Yuri looked at those fangs before they sank deep into his neck.

The bite was another shock to Yuri's system. While there is nothing special about Yuya's fangs unlike his, biting to the Dragons was one of the biggest forms of love and comfort, and Yuya gladly gave it to his brother. 

_ It’s okay, Yuri.  _ Yuya stated.  _ We love you so... _

Following Yuya’s example, Yugo found a spot to graze his fangs before biting Yuri there. Yuto followed suite by biting Yuri’s exposed shoulder.

Yuri moaned and arched his back. '  _ Bite! Bite! Brothers bite!' _

' _ Love you love you love you'  _ the three younger brothers chanted into Yuri's mind. 

_ Brothers love love brothers love treasures treasures love _ … Yuri replied back, relishing the love from these bites.

It felt like it ended too soon as Yuya, Yuto and Yugo began to lick their bitemarks, soft tongues lapping against pale fresh like kittens lap cream. When they finished, they left with a lingering kiss to their bite marks. 

_ Yesyesyesyesyes~ _ Yuri purred, feeling tingling sensations across his body.

With a content sigh, Yugo nuzzled to Yuri's chest, hugging him close. Yuri was feeling so sleepy, but he wanted more and more of his brothers.  _ 'Brothers...happy...father...love…' _

Yuto and Yuya kissed their brother softly and nuzzled to him sending Yuri soothing thoughts

_ Don't....wanna...sleep...not...tired _ Yuri pouted, eyes feeling heavy.  _ Want....brothers....stay.... _

_ Brothers will stay, brothers will stay forever _ Yuya promised.

_ Forever.. _ .Yuto whispered. 

_ Always _ ...Yugo added.

But something about that didn’t settle well with Yuri. He felt so afraid, so lonely, so scared..

_Brothers will leave..._Yuri whimpered. _Won't have treasures anymore...wake up...bad dream....hate bad dreams...hate them...hate them!_ _Brothers stay treasures stay please stay.._

'We love you Yuri, love you always, we'll be here. But you need to sleep now." Yuya said, trying to soothe his brother and get him to rest. 

' _ Not tired...not sleepy…'  _ Yuri shook his head but yawned.

“Okay, we'll just stay right here like this see?' said Yugo. The three hugging and snuggling Yuri, but the older boy saw behind the little trick. Or rather his fear didn't allow him to believe that they won't leave. 

_ No you won't....I'll wake up...and you'll...you’ll all go away.. _ .Yuri shook.

_ 'Just be in our arms, Yuri.'  _ said Yugo softly. 

' _ And I'll be...in that...horrible castle… _ ' whimpered Yuri not listening to his brothers anymore. All he could see was him alone in his bedroom, dark, afraid, no one there to hold him or say that they loved him.

_ Castle?  _ Yuya asked, confused.

_ Castle...so alone...no friends, no brothers, no love, no treasure...Everyone...everyone there hates me. I'll wake up there, you'll all leave me!  _ Yuro explained. crying. 

_ No, no we're here! _ Yuya exclaimed, kissing Yuri’s cheek to calm him down.  _ See? You’re in our arms where no harm can reach you, _

_ No hatred can reach you. _ Yugo added

_ No thought to hurt you _ . Yuto finished.

_ So alone...was so alone...No brothers, no Father, no love, no bites, no treasures...I don’t want to be alone…'  _ he whimpered.  _ I don’t want to be with that evil king anymore...I want Papa...I want my brothers... _

"Yuri…. " Yuya whispered scared for his older brother. 

_ Yuri….  _ Said Yugo, on the verge of tears himself.  _ We're so sorry... _

_ But we're here now _ . Yuto reassured him, nuzzling him and kissing his bite mark again. 

_ We’ll be here when you wake up.  _ Yuya promised, voice soft as tears appeared in his eyes.  _ But please, you need to sleep Yuri _ .  _ You need your rest big brother _

_ Noooooo... _ Yuri replied, shaking his head.  _ I don’t want sleep! _

His brothers began giving soft kisses over Yuri’s body to calm him down. If anything, Yuri just felt like shrinking into a ball.

_ Please....let me...stay...awake...I...I don't like sleeping...Waking up...hurts…Evil king hurts...Evil king doesn’t love me... _

Zarc's heart broke in two. Phantom claws ran through Yuri's hair soothingly, and Yuri gasped amid his sobs. 

_ Was it that painful lily?  _ Zarc asked, knowing that yes. It was that painful. Seeing his son’s memories of being alone while other children had fun, how everyone feared and rejected his precious boy, how Professor Akaba forced him to become cruel and sadistic to hide the lonely boy who  _ wished _ for someone to love him...it made him want to go back in time and  _ incinerate _ those heartless humans for making his lily so lonely. _ I'm so sorry... _

_Papa~_ _PAPA!!! Don't goooo...don't leave me! PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!!!!! I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT EVIL KING!!!! I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY IMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRY…._

Yuya, Yuto and Yugo could feel the anguish, the hurt and guilt in their brother’s heart. Yugo felt it the worst; at least  _ he _ had someone in his life. Yuri...had no one.

A part of Yugo wondered if he would end up like Yuri if Rin wasn’t there. The same with Yuya with Yuzu and Yuto with Ruri. If Serena was able to interact with Yuri, he’d be much better off.

** _Hush my Lily, Papa's here. It’s okay, there’s no need for apologies. _ **

_ Stay with lily...stay with lily please!  _ Yuri begged.

** _Of course I'll stay, I'm right here, right here._ ** Zarc promised.

_ Stay....please... _

Zarc sighed, not wanting to cry in front of his sons.  ** _I'm sorry for what happened. It was that evil king's fault. Evil King Leo and his heartless daughter Princess Ray. They thought they could slay the dragons for good. _ ** He gave a small pat then kissed Yuri's head. ** _ It's okay my Lily, Papa's here. And he's gonna take good care of his precious hatchlings. No evil king or heartless princess will get their hands on the little dragons again._ **

Yuri sniffled, body shaking with how much grief he had. 

** _Papa has you in his arms my sweet prince, has all of you in his arms. And you'll be safe and happy forever. But you are exhausted my precious boy. You need to close those heavy eyes and sleep. Come now, close those pretty eyes for Papa. _ **

_ Don't...want… _

Father hummed a sweet lullaby for all of them. The brothers all relaxed, eyes heavy with exhaustion and bliss and love.  ** _Please Yuri...sleep now. Sleep my little Prince. Papa has you forever._ **

One by one, Yuya, Yuto and Yugo fell asleep in the nest. Yuri was left, trying to resist sleep a little bit longer. But Zarc just pushed Yuri into the arms of his brothers and send him waves of promise, waves of love, waves of hope, and placed a lingering loving kiss on his forehead. 

  
  


** _I have you my sweet boy, I'll never let you go. You are mine once more, always and forever. _ **

Yuri nodded his head, feeling so sleepy. Yes, it was time to sleep and he’ll have his brothers and Father and even a mother when he woke up. He’d never be alone again.

_ For...e....ver.... _ He thought before he finally fell asleep.

…

…

...

Yuri woke up at midnight, but kept his eyes shut. Yesterday he had such a wonderful yet exhausting dream. It was the best one he ever had, but it was just a dream nothing more. His first thoughts were to resent the dreams and that he was back in Academia once more, all alone... 

But the shuffling around him made him pause.

He sat up quickly, eyes snapping open and looked around at where he was. He was in a bedroom with a desk and posters of Duel Monsters. This...this wasn’t Academia…

His mouth fell as he saw three other boys sleeping beside him in their cozy nest. These boys...his brothers…

Everything came back to him. Dueling Yuya, hearing that magician in the grey cloak and black wings speak, his  _ dragon _ knowing the other one (Odd-Eyes…) and then...

Tears fell down Yuri’s face, and he started sobbing. The sounds made Yuya wake up, he looked around to find out the source of it only to see Yuri covering his face with his hands, trying to stop crying. 

“Y-Yuri? What’s wrong?” Yuya asked, coming closer to him. Yuri grabbed his baby brother before pulling him towards him and continued to cry into Yuya’s shoulder, hugging the younger boy tighter as if he was too scared to let him go. As if Yuya would disappear at any moment.

“I...I thought I was dreaming again…” Yuri answered. “I thought I was all alone in Academia in my empty room and there was no one...except me...and I don’t want that! I don’t  _ want that anymore, _ Yuya! I don’t want to be alone again! Don’t leave! Please tell me that I’m not dreaming… Please tell me that everything that happened yesterday was real...that Father was there and you and Yuto and Yugo and...and….”

“You’re not dreaming,” Yuya reassured Yuri. “Shh...look at me. It’s okay…” Yuya cupped Yuri’s face gently with both his hands, before giving him a soft kiss on his lips. “You’re not alone anymore Yuri,” he said with a sweet smile, caressing Yuri’s cheek with his thumb and wiping his tears. “You’ll never be alone again.”

Yuri whimpered and and in a flash dragged Yuya back to his chest for a hug. Thoughts of fear and relief filled his mind and soon spread onto Yuto and Yugo, causing them to wake up in alarm.

“What's wrong?” asked Yuto, as he woke up along with Yugo who rubbed the sleep out of his eye. 

“Yuri?” asked Yugo before crawling closer to his brothers and hugging Yuri too. “It's okay….we’re all here for you.” Yuto wasn’t far behind with a hug of his own.. 

Yuya smiled, burying his head in Yuri's neck. “It's okay big brother. We got you now, remember?”

“And we'll never let go again.” Yuto added. 

“Welcome home. Our Dark Bloom.” Yugo whispered.

Yuri’s tears fell harder “Please don't…” Yuri whispered. “Please don’t leave…I’m afraid that this...this is just a dream and I'm going to wake up alone again.”

His brothers responded by placing soft kisses on his cheeks, lips, forehead, eyelids.

“Did that feel like a dream?” asked Yuya.

“That…didn’t...” Yuri answered.

“Do you remember us in the garden at night?” asked Yuto, 

How you would always sweep me off my feet?” Yugo asked with a soft loving smile, caressing Yuri’s face before taking Yuri from the other two and he starts dancing a familiar waltz with him. 

Yuto and Yuya sit on the bed as Yugo hummed a familiar tune. Yuri's eyes turn dark as he hummed along. As the older brothers danced, Yugo attached their foreheads gently, and pulled Yuri closer to him, their lips inches apart. The soft melody began to lull the younger brothers to a trance, minds envisioning the song playing in their castle where Father would invite people to dance and dance and dance until they dropped dead. 

  
“I missed you so much my Lily,” Yugo whispered. He gave Yuri a peck on his lips which made the older boy gasp “Come back to us fully, don't be afraid, we're yours again,” his voice was seductive, hypnotic and loving, Yuri couldn’t help but fall under the familiar spell. 

“Yuto and I forgive you. Yuya is so happy to see you're okay,” Yugo continued to whisper, Yuto and Yuya humming the melody now. 

“Yugo,” Yuri breathed, tears falling down again, even though he was smiling. Yugo shushed him softly and kissed his tears away. 

“Remember the picnics or the games we played?” asked Yuya, eyes softly glowing like blood.

“How you told us to be careful not to trample on your plants? Or how you decorated the castle with colorful bouquets?” Yuto brought up, eyes glowing like storm clouds about to release lightning upon the land.

“Every year on our birthday you would wake us up with a bouquet of our favorite flowers,” Yugo whispered, still twirling him and Yuri around amongst blankets and pillows. “You remembered which ones were our favorite, right?”

Yuri nodded, eyes glazing over at memories returning at a faster pace. “Yuya was always given red roses,” he whispered as they kept dancing. “Yuto loved seeing orchids hanging outside his window and Yugo...you loved the birds of paradise because they reminded you of your hair.” 

Yugo lifted Yuri gently off the ground and spun him around as they continued their dance “And remember how we'd show you our love?”

Yuri nodded his head as he remembered. it was a horrible horrible day; some human children entered his garden and destroyed his plants. He scared them off good with Starving Venom, but it couldn’t bring the plants back to life. “Yes… that night I returned to my room and you all appeared there, covering my bedsheets with rose petals. I remember Yuya putting a crown of roses on my head -- black, red and white, each to represent my brothers' love for me. And golden roses to represent Father's.” He breathed, tears of happiness continued to fall down.

“Our Darling Yuri. Beloved big brother,” Yuto whispered.

“Rose amongst the thorns…” Yuya added.

Yugo kissed Yuri gently “You are back in our arms once more. Forever ours again. And we will never let you go. Our precious precious lily." He grabbed Yuri’s wrest gently and kissed the back of Yuri's hand, then his fingers one by one.

Yuto and Yuya joined in on giving Yuri affection, leaving the bed to wrap their arms around him. Their lips began kissing his neck, cheek, forehead.

Yuri trimpled and cries but they could sense he's being overwhelmed with happiness and love. “My brothers,” he gasped softly, “My treasures. Please don't leave me; stay with me forever.”

Yugo kissed him “Forever,” then another “forever..” 

“For all eternity…” Yuto added with a kiss of his own. 

“Always,” Yuya smiled. He hoped that this song played again when they were back in their castle, dancing their cares away.

Yugo lowered his arm so it rested under Yuri's knees. With another one behind his back, Yugo lifted his lily up bridal style before gently lowering him to their nest.

Yuri blushed “Y-Yugo!” he stammered.

“Yes my Lily?” Yugo teased.

“This is so embarrassing!” he said hiding his face between his hands. 

Yugo nuzzled Yuri’s neck. “But I love seeing you blush. it is such a rare thing to see, like catching lightning in a bottle. Such a divine sight,”

“ ….” Yuri wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“We haven't seen such a sight in a while,” said Yuto.

“Please big brother…” Yuya begged, crimson eyes wide.

Yuri tried to bury his face in Yugo's chest. This was so embarrassing!

“Come now, we're just getting started,” Yugo said then placed Yuri down on the nest before he, Yuto and Yuya lay down and hug their brother, nuzzling him, help getting Yuri comfortable, stroking his hair and hugging him tight. Yuya kissed him soundly as Yuri leaned into the touch.

“So good...so warm…” Yuri stated with a sigh.” I never...felt like this before in Academia...no one stayed by my side. No one held me close...no one comforted me like this. No one cared about me.”” 

“We care.” said Yuya. “More than, that we love you, we adore you. Every last perfection and flaw for us to see and cherish.”

“ We're your brothers and treasures,” Yuto said.

“My treasures,” Yuri breathed in wonder. He blinked, an urge coming over him, and sat up, “ Can I...mark you? I don't want to lose you...never again,” he said hugging them close, recalling in his haze the night before. How he wanted to bite them and bring them closer to him.

The younger boys shivered, wanting to feel Yuri’s venom numb their senses and make them feel so good. It had been a long time since they felt the sensations of Yuri’s fangs on their skin.

“... Yuri,” Yugo breathed.

“Please...please let me do this…” Yuri begged. He never wanted his treasures to leave him. Never! he wants to give them pleasure and happiness, place them under his thrall, and keep them forever in his arms in perpetual bliss.

Yugo, slowly trails butterfly kisses down Yuri's neck. “Of course, Yuri..”

Yuto smiled softly and nodded, “Anything for you.” 

“Do you remember what your fangs could do? The times you bit us and made us writhe in your arms, begging for your kiss, your touch?” Yuya questioned.

“...I do,” Yuri smiled.

Yuya tilted his neck and smiled. “Bite me first, lily.”

“Y-yuya,” Yuri breathed. 

“It's okay,” Yuya said with a smile. “Do it…”

Yuri licked his fangs before he ran his tongue down Yuya's neck

“Go on,” Yuya moaned softly. “Show me how much you love me Yuri.”

Yuri opened his mouth and sank his fangs deep into Yuya's neck.

“Yu...Yuri…” Yuya moaned.

Yuri ran his hand down Yuya's back and side.

Yuya was becoming light headed as the venom spread through him. Of course wouldn't kill him unlike a regular human. The other quality of Yuri's venom would affect him for a time.

Just enough time for Yuri to give him everything he wanted.

“ Yuya…” Yuto breathed.

“He looks so happy…” said Yugo with glee.

Yuya shivered and moaned, mind ready for any command Yuri gave him.

“Let the venom do its work, Yuya…” Yuri whispered in his ear. “Big brother loves you little Ruby.” Yuya moaned at the nickname. “ And you'll do as I say and feel nothing but pleasure.”

Yuya gasped and arched his back as Yuri ran a hand over his chest. Yes, he would do  _ anything _ for Yuri, for the pleasure.

“Yes my blood ruby that’s it. Let my venom run in you, fall into my love and control, and only feel bliss,” Yuri licked his fangs. Yuya writhed and moaned before nodding fervently. 

“Your turn, my shadow knight,” said Yuri turning his sights to the second youngest. 

Yuto nodded his head as he leaned towards Yuri, shuddering when Yuri hugged him closer to his chest and swiftly bit him. Yuto gasped and threaded his hand through Yuri's hair pressing him further into his neck making his fangs sink deeper

“Please...more...I need it…” Yuto moaned, his back arching 

“My sweet knight,” Yuri whispered and licked his lips. “Yes, dream a dream of you protecting your kingdom from those who would destroy it.” Yuto panted, eyes unfocused with a smile on his face

“What about me, my lily?” Yugo asked

Yuri chuckled. “Yes of course my most dearest Yugo, come to me,” he said, opening his arms for Yugo to come closer. 

Yugo approached his brother with bright blue eyes. “Make me feel good…”

“Why of course,” Yuri promised. He licked Yugo's neck and kissed his pulse point before sinking his fangs there hard. 

“Ah...yes...Yuri!” Yugo moaned, panting as the venom began to make his head feel so heavy. “Please...harder...more...venom…”

Yuri ran his hand through Yugo's hair, and bit harder. “Do you want to obey me, my lovely crystal?”

“Yes...I want to...obey you…” Yugo’s crystal blue eyes faded as the venom in his blood spread fast and the pleasure and lust increased slowly, steady, warming his body until there was a red blush on his cheek.

Yuri licked the shell of Yugo's ear “Good boy. Such a good boy, my Yugo.” He looked down at his brothers, heads filled with lust and ready to fall into mindless pleasure. “Now, tell me brothers, who do you belong to?”

** _“ You…” _ ** Came the answer from three voices filled with love and obedience.

Yuri shivered in pleasure, loving how mindless his brothers sounded under his control. “And What do you desire most, my precious treasures?”

“Your touch,” Yuya moaned.

“Your kisses…” Yuto sighed

“Your love,” Yugo whined.

“Your wish is my command,” Yuri chuckled before approaching Yuya. He pulled his little ruby onto his lap and kissed the back of the red-eyed boy’s neck. “You're so fun when you're like this, my dearests. My oh my what shall I do with you all?” he chuckled in delight.

“Anything…” Yuya moaned.

Yuri stroked Yuya's hair. “Anything?” Yuya nodded eagerly which made Yuri purr in happiness. “Oh yes, I'm going to enjoy this. But for now, Yuya I want you to tell me how much you miss me, how much you love and adore me.”

Yuya smiled. “I missed you so much. So much, big brother. I missed your touch, your kiss, your gifts. I missed sleeping beside you, hugging you, loving you. When I heard from Father what happened, I was heartbroken. I wanted you... Needed you by our side again, in our arms again, letting us show you how much  _ we  _ love you, we'll always love you. Need you, desire you. Our dark bloom, our precious lily... We will shower you with love until you drown in it and we will never let go, forever together.” 

“Yes…that’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” Yuri hissed and kissed Yuya's forehead. Yuya mewled and went lax in Yuri's arms, happy that his response made his older brother smile. “My little blood ruby, doing his best to cheer me up. Oh how it amazed me that you would follow Father's footsteps in performing.”

Yuya shivered. “I always wanna make you happy,” he slurred his words. “To...make you smile...It hurt me to learn you were so sad…”

Yuri smiled. “My precious Yuya, It's okay now. You can start preparing your shows once more.” Yuya buried his face in Yuri's chest and nuzzled him. “Just imagine it for me. The lights, the music, the performers. And us in the audience cheering you on.”

Yuya sighed happily, contently, doing just as Yuri commanded. There he was, on stage with lights shining down on him and his Performapal monsters by his side as he prepared a grand show for his family and his family alone. He could picture it as if it was truly happening right now.

“Keep falling into this lovely dream for me, my ruby.” Yuri commanded. “Be happy,” he added, giving Yuya another kiss on the forehead and the red eyed boy nodded. “Obey me.”

“ I obey.” Yuya whispered, still in his dream of a beautiful performance of shadows and light and everything that would make his family smile. Yuri placed Yuya down on the nest, making the boy’s head rest on a pillow before he approached Yuto next.

“And you, my Shadow knight, tell me, what would you want me to do for you?” he asked, crawling over his lavender haired brother.. “Well my sweet?” he whispered coaxing gently.

“Kiss me…” Yuto whispered. “Please….” 

Yuri ran a finger down Yuto's cheek and leaned in, whispers against Yuto’s lips “Is that all?” 

“No,” Yuto answered on the verge of tears. “Kiss me, tell me how much you missed us. And how you will enact vengeance on those who destroyed my home.” Yuto’s tears fill his eyes. “ Heartland...it didn't deserve this... I want my home back... please Yuri,” he sobbed breaking Yuri’s heart. He knew what Dennis had done, giving the command to let Obelisk Force wreak havoc on the home Yuto had, filling his once peaceful life with despair and leading Yuri to take his little brother’s treasure away. If only he could’ve done something about this sooner, if only he’d known better.

“ Shhh,” he shushed Yuto gently caressing his hair before leaning down, he kissed his neck gently and bit him again. Yuto stopped sobbing and was now shivering as the venom pulsed through his body. “I'll make it all better, I promise. Now, focus on the pleasure…”

“ Yuri~” Yuto whined thrashing around.

“Obey my command Yuto,” Yuri whispered softly. “Forget everything but me right now. Focus and remember you belong to me. Doesn't that idea make you happy? Make you feel so good?”

“ It...it does~,” Yuto moaned his body relaxing at the commands.

Yuri wrapped his arms around Yuto’s body and nuzzled his cheek. ““Good boy, Yuto, I'm proud of you. Now, why don't you stay by Yuya's side? And while you’re there, I want you to dream of happier times, before Academia came to ruin everything. As you dream, why don't you kiss Yuya? And with every kiss a new happy memory comes back to you. Only think about those happier times right now. Nothing else matters right now.”

Yuto nodded his head before Yuri released his embrace. Tilting his head to the side, to Yuya still dreaming of his beautiful performance, Yuto smiled and crawled on his hands and knees to where his little brother rested. Smiling, he laid down and began placing kisses all over Yuya’s face: over his cheeks, eyelashes, eyelids, forehead, nose, lips, chin, neck.

Yuya writhed and moaned the more Yuto kissed him. The older boy’s hands grasped Yuya’s hips as the red eyed boy squirmed underneath. A smile formed on Yuto’s face as he kissed Yuya more and more, his brother’s sounds of happiness on being covered in kisses and the happy memories of Heartland back when it shone like a jewel at night fueling him to carry on obeying Yuri’s sweet command. All while Yuya dreamed of his beautiful show with its bright lights, music and the smiles on everyone’s faces as he amazed them with his performance.

Yuri could only smile as he saw his little brothers be happy in their dreams before turning to Yugo, the boy with clear blue eyes smiling and waiting for Yuri’s commands and words to lull him deeper and deeper into the sea of happiness and love that Yuto and Yuya were sinking in. Oh how he missed his little crystal; how he would tease Yugo at night, dipping him low in the garden and kissing him on the nose, the lips, the cheek as a sign of how much he loved him.He always adored the red that spread over Yugo’s lovely cheeks, his pout, his little scowl, Yugo did always chase him pretending to be angry, it was their little game, and both loved it. 

“And you, my loveliest summer breeze, it's just been too long hasn't it?” Yuri asked with a feline grin on his face. “Oh what to do with you, my Yugo?” he questioned, running a finger down Yugo’s neck.

“Anything...you want,” Yugo said gasping. 

“ Yes anything,” Yuri chuckled softly, delighted at all of his brothers’ reactions. “You're all under my thrall, and you all look so  _ beautiful  _ like that. Under my control, happy, in perpetual bliss,” he shivered in delight. ”Mine. All mine. But how to play with you?” he wondered allowed running his hand through Yugo’s blue locks. Aha! He knew just what to do.

“ My pretty little crystal…” Yuri cooed, licking Yugo’s cheek. "You are my treasure, right?”

“ Of... course,” Yugo replied, his voice soft and distant.

“Hmm...that's not enough.” Yuri teased, licking the side of Yugo's eyelid. “ _ How  _ are you my treasure? How do I care for you?”

Yugo sighed, trying to find the right words to answer Yuri all while he could distantly hear Yuto and Yuya kissing each other. “ You protect me, care for me, hold me close,” he began. “You make sure I and our brothers...are held in your arms, And we make sure you are happy, to keep you in our arms for eternity and in return, you shower us with love and flowers. 

Yugo shuddered. “Please Yuri...make us yours. Keep us yours forever. We've missed you, our beloved older brother. Our Darkest bloom, our beautiful Lily. Never let go of us. Stay like old times where we drowned in each other's love. In Father's embrace in bliss and happiness.”

Yuri paused as he ran his claws through Yugo’s crescent bangs. “...Always, my shining crystal. I missed you all so much,” he said with a smile kissing Yugo's ear. 

Yugo shivered and arched his back with a gasp. “Tell us you love us,” he begged. “Touch us, remind us of your love, my Darkest Bloom.”

“Yes, I love you, I love you, I  _ love you _ Yugo,” Yuri proclaimed as he kissed Yugo's cheek. “I missed my little brothers so...hugging them, kissing them, promising to protect them I made an oath to be strong like Father to protect you all,” he said remembering his vow.

“ You did, you're so much like father Yuri.” Yugo stated. “Your love is intoxicating, consuming, addicting. We want more, we  _ need  _ more. We’ll always love you, my Darkest bloom, forever. Please...just give us more of your love, consume us with it, swallow us whole.”

Yuri shivered, hearing Yugo praise him like that. It never ceased to make him feel so proud of his accomplishments on making his brothers become mindless love slaves to him. “Yugo, my dearest Yugo.”

“Yes Yuri?” Yugo asked, his voice empty and monotone.

Yuri wrapped his arms around Yugo, tears in his eyes as he missed Yugo’s embrace and how he smelled like lemons warmed in the summer. “Please stay in my arms.”

“Yes. Forever,” Yugo reassured him hugging Yuri back and kissing his forehead.

** _My Lily? _ ** Zarc whispered a small wicked smirk could be heard in his voice. 

_ '... Yes Father?' _ Yuri knew that tone… 

** _Two days ago, our precious Yugo was feeling quite left out from his brothers' love and affection. _ ** Zarc explained, giving Yuri a memory of how Yugo cried and was hurt from how he missed Rin, how Yuya got cards and how Yuto’s problems with Shun came first.

Yuri blinked… well that just wouldn't do. He knew that Yugo sometimes felt that way because he was always the middle child; Yuya and Yuto were the baby brothers and Yuri the eldest. Sometimes that need for attention is what caused Yugo to be so reckless.

** _And while your brothers have amended their mistake, I know how much better you were at teasing your brothers until they were nothing but puddles of love mindless with happiness and bliss. _ ** Father purred and Yuri shivered, feeling that rush of pleasure fill his mind once more. 

_ 'I learned from the best.'  _ Yuri replied with a smirk.

Zarc chuckled as he sent overwhelming tendrils of love through the bond. Yuri's baby brothers panted, their cheeks flushed with blissed expression, the venom and Father's love was simply an  _ intoxicating  _ blend to say the least. Yuri himself moaned, doing his best to resist so he could give more and more commands 

** _So my Darkest Bloom, do you mind… showing our precious Yugo once again how treasured he is? After all with Yuya and Yuto kissing like that, he just might feel left out again… _ **

Yuri looked over his shoulder at his youngest brothers and shivered in delight. Yuto had captured Yuya's lips and was kissing him feverishly as if both would die if they would stop. Yuya was clinging to him kissing back just as feverish, Yuri licked his lips and looked at Yugo in his arms. Covered neck to toe still in his one piece riding suit, Yuri thought it a shame… all that beautiful pale skin just hidden from them like that. Yugo's eyes faded and filled with pleasure, and with Yuri's venom still coursing through his veins, he would do  _ anything  _ Yuri commanded despite any embarrassment. 

Yuri chuckled, knowing exactly what he needed to do.  _ 'Why yes father… it would be my  _ pleasure.'

Zarc smirked.  ** _Good boy. _ ** He said running his claws through Yuri's hair. And Yuri gasped as more waves of affection hit him again and again. He hadn’t felt anything like this in such a long time, and all he wanted to do was be petted like that forever.

But that would be for later; Yugo being turned into a puddle of mindless goo came first.

After getting over the pleasure that Father has sent, with one last shudder he looked at Yugo, who still had his arms around him, Yuri smirked. "Let go of me, Yugo dear," he commanded softly. Yugo whined having to lose his brother in his arms. But it would be momentary.

Yuri stood and headed to Yuya's closet. He rummaged through it and noticed the paper bags of clothes Yoko bought for Yugo and Yuto earlier -- even labeled with their names to make it easier to remember -- and pulled out the clothes in Yugo’s bag. Yes, this would be perfect.

"Yugo dear,” Yuri cooed. “Stand up, come to me.”

Mindlessly Yugo obeyed and went closer to his brother. Yuri then handed the clothing into Yugo’s hands. "Now, I want you to go to the bathroom and change into these clothes. Once you're done, come back and stand before us, understood?"

"Yes, Yuri," Yugo nodded robotically with a dreamy smile on his face, taking the clothes from Yuri and heading out of the bedroom with a smile on his face as he did as was commanded. Yuri watched Yuya and Yuto oh so happy kissing each other, wanting the scene to continue but knowing that there was something better in store for them.

"Now, Yuya, Yuto, stop what you're doing," Yuri commanded in a firm voice. Both brothers groaned, disappointed that they couldn't keep kissing and cuddling each other more. Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle at that. "Now, now don't be like that, I have a special treat, so sit still until our dear Crystal comes back." 

** _"Yes Yuri… "_ ** Yuya and Yuto said as one.

Yuri smiled as he ran a finger down the cheeks of both of his little brothers. “Good boys~” They shivered in delight, both of them smiled up at Yuri with such dreamy, loving and adoring eyes like newborn kittens who were just about to see the world for the first time.

The bedroom door opened and closed again, and all heads turned to the one who came in. Yuri licked his fangs and both Yuya and Yuto shivered at the sight. Yugo was now wearing a lemon yellow shirt that exposed his midriff and slid off one shoulder along with dark blue short shorts. His beautiful pale skin full on display, his arms held together behind his back, a look of vulnerability to him. Yugo was absolutely  _ gorgeous _ . 

"Brothers, tell Yugo what you think of him right now,” said Yuri, licking his lips. He could just imagine tasting Yugo and think of lemons in summertime.

"Beautiful," breathed Yuya. 

"Breathtaking," said Yuto with the same awe inspired tone. 

Yugo was shivering, a part of him was resisting the venom with a need to blush. Yuri smirked; this was exactly the reaction he wanted. "Now, how about we show Yugo how truly beautiful he is? Kiss him anywhere you want.”

Yuri thought he could hear Yugo's gasp, but Yuya and Yuto didn't pay attention to it. Yugo's body was trembling with the need to move or cover up, Yuya's and Yuto's hungry eyes trailed over him deciding where to go. 

Both younger brothers crawled over to Yugo, each of them taking a side on their knees, their hands trailed up Yugo's pale toned legs, and over his exposed waist.

Yugo whimpered as he anticipated what was to come. Yuto stood up, and started kissing Yugo's neck, while Yuya stayed on his knees kissing and licking Yugo's exposed thigh, both their hands exploring the beautiful pale skin on display. 

"That's it, good boys, show him more love, more and more and more," Yuri purred, hearing father chuckling in the back of his mind, proud and pleased. Yuri shivered in delight, combined with the look on Yugo's face made him moan. 

Yugo squirmed and whimpered he tangled both his hands in Yuya and Yuto's hair, desperate for something to hold on to. His legs were about to give in. 

But neither boy let up, lips kissing and tongues licking all they could reach, hands roaming lovingly over Yugo’s body, as if worshiping him. 

Yugo arched his back, gasping, tears falling down, all his senses overwhelmed. Yuri grabbed him, licking the tears away, making Yugo whimper. Yuri then put his hand on Yuto's head and pushed down, giving him the silent command and Yuto complied dropping to his knees and wrapping his arms around Yugo kissing and licking his stomach and hips. Yuya still trailed kisses and licks and touches over Yugo’s legs. And now Yuri took over Yuto's place placing kisses all over Yugo neck, and every once in a while he'd scrap his fangs over his shoulder. 

"Such beautiful skin, Yugo," Yuri whispered to Yugo's ear who was panting. "Such a shame you insist on hiding it even from our eyes," he mock pouted.

Yuri bit him again and Yugo screamed mind shattering like glass, his legs couldn't support him anymore and he fell into Yuri's arms. Yuto and Yuya whined. 

"Shh, it's okay, we'll just put him in the nest and we can both keep showing him how much we love him yes?" Both boys nodded eagerly. 

Yugo was placed on the soft pillows on the nest, and true to Yuri's claim all three kept kissing and showering Yugo with love, kisses and touches, still overwhelming him more and more. He had a small smile on his face, a trail of drool down his lips, eyes empty mind only filled with pleasure and bliss. 

** _Good boys. _ ** Zarc praised, loving the little show of affection and love from his sons.

Yuri stroked Yugo’s hair and wiped the drool off with the corner of his own shirt before kissing Yugo’s lips. Yugo groaned as the fog in his mind began to lift. Something...something was wrong. 

Yugo flinched, trying to sit up before a hand on his chest stopped him, and Yuri licked his ear making him shiver. 

“Yu-Yuri...what…” was all he could say before moaning and arching as a pair of lips trailed down kisses all over his body. With a bit of struggle he opened his eyes, cheeks flushed and eyes hazy with lust. “Yu-Yuya, Yuto...what are you two doing?” he struggled to ask before Yuri kissed his neck making him cry out.

His younger brothers didn’t answer and simply kept kissing him, and running their hands over his soft skin. Yugo squirmed at the attention. “Yu-yuri, please make them  _ stop _ ,” he could hear both of them whine, which made him blush even more. He didn’t have the energy to even attempt to remove them from himself.

“Make them  _ stop _ ?” Yuri gasped in surprise. “Now why would I do that, Yugo dear? We just wanna show you how much we love you. Besides, it’s Father’s will. And I can’t disobey him.” 

“F-father?” Yugo asked confused “W-what do you mean...Ahh!” he yelled as Yuya sucked on the skin of his arm. 

“You make the most wonderful sound, my beautiful Crystal,” Yuri sighed in pleasure. Yuya and Yuto kept on kissing him more, making Yugo arch his back and throw his head back, his body feeling more sensitive than usual. 

“Don- Don’t dodge the question...wha-what do you mean Father...I don’t get...I don't get it,” he sucked in a breath and moaned. 

“Father told me what happened, how you felt so lonely and overlooked,” Yuri explained with a deceptive sweet smile as if waiting patiently for a child to walk. “So Father tasked me with making you feel good and loved and treasured like I used to.”

“Bu-but...It’s okay,” Yugo whined. “I f-feel fine now. I don’t need…” This was interrupted by another cry. Yuri kissed Yugo’s lips passionately swallowing his sounds. 

“Father commands it Yugo... “ he said softly with a small smirk. Yugo’s eyes widened and blood rushed to his ears. “We  _ never  _ disobey Father, do we Yugo?” he whispered to Yugo’s lips huskily, and the blue haired boy sucked in a breath. “We belong to Father after all, and we  _ always  _ obey.”

This felt all too familiar, all too nostalgic,  _ ‘We belong to Father after all.’  _ was always repeated by Yuri in sessions like this, engraved into their minds and souls by both Father and Yuri themselves. He, Yuya and Yuto and Yuri belong to Father, will  _ forever  _ belong to Father. They will never disobey him, never stop loving him, always, always be Father’s. Yugo’s mind began to cloud over at the old mantra, feeling those moments fill his mind.

“I still don’t….” he began to protest weakly before sucking in another breath. 

“Ah ah ah…” Yuri cooed, wagging a finger. “Not another word out of you, Yu~go~”

“Yu..ri…” he breathed, body going lax, cheeks still red at the attention he was getting. He let out another sigh. “Feels good,” he clutches the sheets under him. If Father desires this, he’ll happily do it, and his brothers are showing him love. Yes he was a little too embarrassed at the moment, he knew his cheeks must be as red as Yuya’s eyes right now which is why he struggled to begin with. It felt too good. 

“Mmm…” Yuri purred, licking his lips. “I bet you taste divine after coming out of a shower. What type of shampoo have you been using? It smells so good…”

Yugo couldn’t help but shut his eyes and whimpering, hands clutching the sheets of the nest tighter.  _ ‘Too much, too much...too  _ good _ .’ _

Yuri chuckled. “Too much Yugo? I wonder what would happen if Father joined us like he used to. How far gone would you be then?”

Yugo shook his head. “You’d be too far gone to pay me attention,” he gasped. “If Father was here, you’d be a mess like the rest of us.” 

Yuri frowned. Yugo did make a good point. Zarc raised an eyebrow. Still, that didn’t stop Yuri from moving his index finger under the loose shirt up his chest, and began playing with one of Yugo’s nipples. “Yes, it would be a true shame, Father always was too good at what he did, and he always did it to me first. ‘For all your hard work when I’m not around,’ he said, ‘You’d be the first to be lost in the haze and pleasure, my thorned rose.’” 

Yuri licked his fangs. “I wonder how addicted we’d be if he used his venom on us more often,” Yuri’s hand moved down Yugo’s chest stroking the milky white skin softly before placing a kiss on his waist. Yugo whimpered. 

“So beautiful Yugo,” Yuri whispered all while Yuto and Yuya mindlessly continued their touches and kisses. Yuya licked the inside of Yugo’s thigh as if he was licking an ice cream cone, and Yuto was sucking on his hips as if sucking on a lollipop. “So  _ delicious _ . I wonder what you taste like? What do you think, ruby? Shadow knight? What does Yugo taste like to you?”

“Sweet and sour lemons,” Yuya said with a big smile. 

“Lemonade…” Yuto sighed.

“Hey, can we bite him Yuri?” Yuya asked, eyes wide and filled with desire..

“Please bite, please bite!!!” Yuto said with the excitement of a child wanting to go to the carnival. 

Yuri chuckled, “Hmm, I don’t know. Yugo dear, what do you say? Do you want our brothers to bite you? Just like all three of you bit me yesterday, would you like that?” 

Yugo gave another cry. "Yes! Yesyesyesyes. Bite me, bite me please. I need you, brothers!"

“Who are we to say no?” Yuri asked chuckling. “Okay then, ruby, shadow...you can bite Yugo now!”

"Yay~," both brothers cheered before crawling up Yugo's body, each giving him a deep kiss before as if one person, they lowered their lips kissing the same spot on either side of Yugo. Mirror images of each other, grey and red eyes clouded with lust before clamping their fangs on each shoulder. Yugo gasped and screamed, hugging his brothers closer, pressing their heads firmly, bringing them closer to him. 

"I love you, I love you, I love you so much!" Yugo cried. “Ah, it’s so good!”

** _So good, so good, so good. _ **

They heard Zarc chuckle in the back of their minds and all shivered at his delight. When Father was happy, so were they. It was a never-ending loop of love and pleasure and bliss from Father to sons to Father again. A sense of euphoria hit all of them, making them all shiver in delight. Yuya and Yuto removed their fangs from Yugo’s shoulders and began licking his wounds, loving how that lemon shirt had the shoulder Yuya was biting exposed.

The two wrapped their arms around Yugo’s waist and began kissing his neck, and nuzzling to him, all while Yugo panted, eyes glazed over from the pleasure. Yuri chuckled and wrapped his arms around Yugo as well, kissing his exposed taught stomach and licking the pretty skin. Yuri grabbed Yuya, and gently cupped his chin, kissing his lips and letting him fall on Yugo’s side then did the same for Yuto. 

“My brothers, my treasures, my loves…” Yuri whispered. “I’m happy to be with you again…”

He rested his head on Yugo’s chest, and they all fell back asleep in peace and tranquility. 

** _“Love you brothers,” _ ** came the answer from all three of the boys, and Yuri smiled falling asleep.

***************

It was dawn when Yuri woke up still snuggling to Yugo. He sighed and nuzzled to the exposed stomach where he had laid his head the previous night, before placing a kiss on the beautiful milky skin, tongue dipped into Yugo’s navel teasingly, only to have Yugo run his claws through Yuri's hair, making him purr. 

The feelings were interrupted as he felt a mix of anger and slight fear coming through the bond and turned around looking for his little brothers only to see them still in the nest. He looked in confusion at what he was seeing: Yuya straddling Yuto, glaring at the Xyz prince, arms crossed while Yuto was looking away trying not to look at Yuya's face and burying it in a hippo plushie.. 

"Tell me, Yuto, what did you do?" Yuya asked slowly and Yuri was honestly perplexed at the interaction. He never recalled Yuya acting like this before.

"Yuya…" Yuto began. “Well...I...uh….it’s...

"Tell me!" The red and green haired boy snapped, red eyes briefly glowing like a fire in a paper lantern. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO SHUN?!” 

Yuri wasn't so sure who Shun was or what had happened to make Yuto blush and Yuya be that angry and snappy at Yuto. This scene just never transpired in their past… much. 

It took a few moments for Yuto to make a decision. He moved away from the plushie before looking at his little with a serene smile on his face. 

"I made him mine," Yuto answered and placed a claw on Yuya’s temple. Yuya flinched slightly, eyes wide as he stared into space and images began to form in his mind.

"I made Shun mine," Yuto repeated as he started lightly running his hand over Yuya's body, over the gray shirt, down his back, up his sides, and his leg. 

Yuto shared the memories that happened starting when Yuya left for You Show Duel School three days ago: hypnotizing Shun, the desire to keep his friend safe and in Yuto's arms, to keep Shun his, to make him his treasure. The happiness and elation these actions and memories caused coursed from Yuto and into Yuya's mind and the younger boy shuddered. 

"I claimed him," Yuto whispered. "That mark I branded on his back is my crest.” His hand traveled up Yuya's back and caressed between his shoulder blades all while the memory of Shun pressed to the wall, shivering and moaning as Yuto drew that specific mark with a claw. "It was glorious,  _ he _ was glorious. All of that passion and loyalty and love for me. Mine, my treasure, always and forever.” All the kisses they shared, all the desire and passion in them, it all exploded in Yuya's mind. How happy Yuto was, how his mind was at peace that one of his precious treasures would never leave him no matter what, not by human fear or time itself. No, Shun was Yuto's, and he would show Shun just how much that was true, how much Yuto loves him, adores him. 

Yuto sighed, eyes softening like stiff fabric in soapy water. "I know I've been… a pain to you and Yugo about it, but I can't  _ help it _ , Yuya. I  _ love him _ , and he's mine. Minemineminemine. I need to touch him, to love him, play with him, he's so beautiful Yuya. So  _ beautiful _ !" 

Yuya's arms uncrossed and were placed on each side of Yuto's head. Yuri couldn't see Yuya's eyes, hidden by strands of his beautiful evergreen and cherry hair. Instead, Yuya lowered himself, his slender body now lying on top of Yuto instead of straddling him. Yuya smirked and started kissing Yuto's chin, which made the Xyz user arch his neck back, letting Yuya kiss him, softly and slowly. 

Yuya felt it, the happiness the elation the possessiveness and love Yuto held for Shun. How happy Yuto was to see Shun all his and his alone, to see Shun's loyalty, love and lust only be directed at Yuto and no one and nothing else. And that he would keep Shun for as long as they lived. Yes, Yuya could feel it all. The heady feeling, the desire, the lust that was so new to Yuto he himself couldn't control. And it didn't really help that he and Shun never really spent a night together; Yuya and Yugo keeping Yuto all to themselves these past few nights.

Yuto was happy to possess a treasure, that was his right and desire. And now in the safety of their own nest with no prying eyes or questions being asked, who was Yuya to tell his brother what not to do? Yuya's lips fell down, licking Yuto's neck, the memories of what Yuto did to Shun created a loop of lust and desire between both of them and Yuya couldn't help but want to touch Yuto like how Yuto roamed his hands over Shun’s body out in public. 

Yuri heard a moan, and looked up to see Yugo looking at their brothers’ faces flushed and a happy smile. He looked at Yuri opening his arms for his big brother, and Yuri happily crawled over, giving Yugo a kiss. The younger boy wrapped his arms around Yuri's waist and ran his claws again in Yuri's hair, making the older boy purr in happiness. 

“Don’t you see, Yuya?” Yuto sighed. “Wouldn’t you want to be that way with someone close to you? A treasure that you want forever in your hands? To never let them go?" 

Yuya shivered at the thought, and his lips descended on Yuto's. Yes, he wanted Yuzu to be with him forever. She was always with him, through good times and bad. Yuzu couldn’t be taken away by the Professor; and she would not be offered up just for his  _ daughter _ to be brought back to life.

Ray Akaba died to destroy them. Now it was up to Zarc and his sons to ensure that she  _ stay dead _ . 

The two younger brothers rolled around in the nest, happily kissing and running their hands all over each other. 

Yugo sat up drawing Yuri into his lap, Yuri's back pressed to his chest, as he started kissing down Yuri's neck while they faced their kissing brothers. Yuri gasped as Yugo bit gently on his bite mark, and kissed it a few times. 

“Gods I missed this,” he said, nuzzling to Yuri. “Welcome home, my Lily,” he whispered lovingly. 

Yuri shifted around enough so he can rest his head on the crock of Yugo’s neck and nuzzle to him more. “It’s so good to be, my sweet Summer Breeze.” 

**************

_ “HI, Yoko-san. In case you get this, I’m still in the stadium with everyone else, upset at how the cameras just cut off everywhere! We all tried to leave to see how Yuya and Yuzu were doing, but Himika-san told us to stay in our seats. Also, we all saw you beating up those strange guys in blue coats in the Volcano section all while you were in your ‘Shooting Star’ attire. Is there something you’re not telling us? _

_ “This entire thing with the Akabas ever since they blamed Yuya for the attack on Shingo has been in the back of my mind. Yuzu even questioned where she got that bracelet for some reason when she knows and I know and you know that she’s had it since she was a baby. Why she would even question something that should be as obvious as her own name is beyond me. _

_ “Something is up. I’m not sure what, but please be careful. I don’t trust the Akabas one bit. _

_ “Tatsuya is about to fight Reira in a few hours. While I don’t want to doubt Tatsuya’s skills, I don’t think he’s going to win against Reira considering how he (I think Reira is a he) defeated Ayu and Futoshi with Fusion and Synchro. Either way, I hope that this tournament brings an influx of duelists for the school in the future. _

_ “So, uh, see you when we can finally leave this place. And if you see Yuya and Yuzu, tell them I said ‘hi’. _

_ “Oh and you don’t mind if you make something for us to eat when this is all over, right? The people in the stadium are just giving us some oatmeal and an apple and that’s hardly filling after sitting in these seats for more than twelve hours.” _

Yoko placed her cellphone down on the bed and sighed. The past few hours was going through message after message on her phone in regards to the Battle Royale and whatever schemes Himika cooked up to make sure everyone were ignorant sheep to this.

Mieru gave a message in that she was awake and that there had been no signs of Obelisk Force at all through the night, but that didn’t necessarily mean that there was a high chance of more soldiers coming in to finish the job. Michiyo somehow had the time to upload a picture of himself, Teppei, Mieru, Serena and Yuzu enjoying their meal together. Even Yuzu sent a photo of herself and Serena smiling to the camera, albeit Serena looked slightly flustered at being photographed.

Mieru had also sent Yoko a video that made her eyes bulge out of her sockets. Upon seeing the entire recording, she wasn’t sure if she needed a talk with Yuto or talk with Zarc first. What with Shun Kurosaki on his knees in the streets begging Yuto to ravage him and calling Yuto his ‘prince’ like some god-awful live-action yaoi fanfiction roleplay...and that’s the  _ clean  _ version of what she was seeing!

What was the relationship between Yuto and Shun anyway and when did it start? He’s calling Yuto his “prince” and as far as Yoko was clear on the matter, Yuto didn’t know a thing about the whole dragon thing until he faced Yugo while they were in this dimension  _ just a few days ago _ !

And does Shun even know how intimate Yuto and his brothers are? Would he even  _ care _ ? What type of spell did Yuto or Zarc or whoever transformed this stoic, cold, anger-filled boy who mercilessly attacked Sora in their Action Duel (with the field most likely bringing up bad memories for Shun, seeing as it was called  _ Neo-Heartland _ and Sora’s taunting and the fact that he was from the Fusion Dimension didn’t help matters) into some sort of... _ love slave _ ?!

_ Aren’t my boys and Serena enough for you, Zarc? _ Yoko thought.  _ Now  _ Shun  _ is involved in this madness?! _

Yoko had half a mind to go to Yuya’s bedroom and demand Zarc to explain this. How Mieru was able to be conscious to record this spectacle is nothing short of a miracle.

And at that thought, another question popped into her mind: what was her role in all of this?

She knew too much now: her sons possessed by the shadow of their father, Professor Akaba’s schemes to resurrect his daughter, the different dimensions, Reiji’s plans, her husband’s disappearance...She was living in a personal horror movie and there was no solution to any of these problems (She tried looking up anything about Zarc but nope, he just didn’t exist...well, didn’t exist in  _ this _ timeline anyway).

What the fuck could she, “Shooting Star Yoko” of the Maiami Queens, do anyway? If she tried telling anyone about this, they would look at her as if she was crazy! Teppei, annoying as he was, did have a point with how he reacted to Mieru’s explanations. And soon enough she knew that fighting Obelisk Force with just her fists wouldn’t be able to cut it. Even her deck, as good as it is, probably wouldn’t work against those who had mastered a Summoning Method.

She only wished that things could be settled by her riding her motorcycle with her monsters by her side, kicking ass and taking names. Why couldn’t things just be as simple as that?

Yoko laid back in bed, staring at a framed picture of her and Yusho on her wedding day on the table. At times like this, she would think about her husband’s philosophy to smile and keep moving…

Yeah, as if a simple smile was going to change everything considering that three years in Heartland didn’t stop Academia from invading it!

Yoko Sakaki had to do something. She had to be by her sons’ side. She had to fight off Obelisk Force, find her husband somewhere in either the Synchro or Fusion Dimensions and smack him over the head for abandoning her and Yuya, perhaps relive her days as Shooting Star Yoko as she tore the roads with her motorcycle by her side, protect Yuzu and Serena before they ended up being sacrificed.

She had to do something. She  _ wanted _ to do something!

….

…

...

Well...what was stopping her from doing what she wanted?

Yoko sat up, picked up her phone and typed “Synchro monsters” in the search bar. Seconds later, she was looking at the variety of archetypes that used Synchro summoning.

From seeing the duels Gongenzaka participated in, she already knew how a Synchro Summoning worked. It actually took a lot of planning since you needed monsters with the  _ exact _ combined level in order to bring it out. And there were various combinations of adding levels to consider and the effects of the Tuners; she gotta remember those too.

And the thought of dueling with these monsters on a motorcycle like Yugo was capable of doing sounded too exciting. Calling out her monsters while shouting “Synchro Summon!” sounded too good to be true.

But what type of Synchro archetype would work with her?

Yoko began scrolling through the different variety of monsters that had Synchro monsters in them: Ice Barrier, Ally of Justice, Aroma, Cryston, Gusto...all of them had interesting designs and gimmicks to go with them. But there was something  _ missing _ .

She wanted an archetype that connected her to her sons. The dragons that they were inside, burning with anger and rage at all who would stand in their way. Dragons that were ready to fight off against those who took their treasures. Warriors who would ride into battle alongside these mighty dragons. She wanted to find herself like Yuya and Serena, proudly riding the dragons into battle without a care in the world.

And as that scenario played out in her mind, she noticed the card she stopped at: one of a knight riding on the back of a massive dragon...

_ Hmmm... _ Yoko said with a smirk.  _ This one might be interesting. _

With a press of a button, she clicked on the link for “Dragunity”.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We still regret nothing.


	10. Chapter 7 (Part 2):Spitting Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE REACHED 100 KUDOS!!!!!!!!
> 
> In celebration we give you part two of chapter 7.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy, and we adore your comments and love and support, please keep it up!
> 
> Warnings: Mostly Yuri, a bit Shun too.

After Yoko finished reading through the article about Synchro summoning, she showered, got dressed (in some normal clothes; there was no need to be “Shooting Star Yoko” again) and entered Yuya’s bedroom. She sighed. She would never get used to seeing her sons on the floor cuddling like kittens while their dark demonic dragon of a father used his ‘claws’ to comfort them.

But she needed to speak to Zarc right now; so pushing her discomfort aside, she opened the door, expecting the worst.

“Zarc,” Yoko said, poking her head inside. “Can I have a word with — “ 

She paused at what she was seeing. Instead of her four boys in each other’s arms, kissing and whatever else they would do to each other, she found them staring back at her with Duel Monster cards in the center of their circle.

“Oh, I’m sorry…” said Yoko. “Is this a bad time?”

“Mom?” said Yuya blinked. “Why do you need to talk to Father so much?”

“It’s...a personal matter,” Yoko said, flicking a glance at Yuri as she said that. Yuri somehow understood what she meant and gulped.

“All three of you, get dressed,” she said. “Yuya is supposed to be shown dueling once the Akabas  _ finally  _ decide to turn on the cameras connecting the Battle Royale to the stadium. Plus I don’t know whether or not Professor Akabastard will be sending more reinforcements; I highly doubt our display is going to deter him from getting Serena and Yuzu by his side.”

All the boys shivered at the prospect of the girls anywhere near an Akaba, Reiji included, especially after the news Yuri gave about the disgusting parasites, but they sighed and nodded their heads. 

Yoko did blink at something though. “Yugo, what are you  _ wearing _ ?” The boy’s face became as red as Yuya’s crimson eyes before he hid behind Yuri’s shoulder. trying to hide the lemon shirt and blue shorts from her..

“Y...Yuri made me wear it,” Yugo stammered.

“Oh blame it on me, why don’t you?” Yuri snorted. “I think you looked rather nice in that outfit, Yugo,” He licked his lips. “You look like a delicious lemon popsicle I just want to — OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!”

Yoko had begun to pull on his ear with annoyance. “No talks of eating your brothers in my house, got it?”

“I do blame you because you  _ literally  _ made me wear it, Yuri!” Yugo exclaimed, crawling away from Yoko. Zarc narrowed his eyes, not sure if he wanted to come out and tug on her ponytail until her neck was snapped.

“Okay okay, no talking about it I promise,” Yuri said in a hurry. Yoko narrowed her eyes at the phrasing of it but let Yuri’s ear go. 

“Good, now then,” Yoko turned to Yuya. “I want a word with Zarc, right now.”

“WHAT?!” Yuya shouted. Never had his mom be so direct about talking to Father. “But...but…”

_ “Now _ , Yuya.”

“But...but…”

** _It’s all right, Yuya. I know what she wants. Just let me do the talking._ **

“I…. well... alright,” Yuya eyes glowed as he transformed into the image of his father before Zarc immediately took control. Yoko shuddered; it never ceased to frighten how Yuya could shift into Zarc like that, as if he was shedding off his skin to expose something  _ else  _ underneath.

“So,” said Zarc, raising an eyebrow. “What does the great ‘Shooting Star Yoko’ wish to address?”

Yoko just grabbed Zarc’s hand. “In the dining room, now.” She pulled him out the room, but not before looking into the eyes of her other sons and said, “Don’t stay too long up there.”

With that, she closed the door and practically dragged Zarc downstairs until they were in the dining room. 

...Yeah okay, by this point Yoko knew she was pushing her luck with Zarc. She knows that this guy could probably snap her neck, and he was  _ letting  _ her drag him. She had no idea how far Zarc would let her get away with, and even that ear pull with Yuri might have been the most she pushed her luck with the overprotective and highly possessive Father of a Dragon King…

In hindsight she was being almost  _ stupid _ , like all those protagonists that she lambasted over. But for now, he was letting her have a modicum of power over him. It is by his will that she has that power, so she has to be careful in keeping it, because at any moment he could take it away from her. 

After seating Zarc in one of the chairs, Yoko went into the kitchen and brought back a teapot and two small cups, setting them on the table. By this time the animals kept barking and yowling and growling at Zarc before looked at them and spoke one word.

** _SIT_ ** .

And the animals suddenly stopped talking and did as he commanded. Yoko sighed; now she’ll have less of a headache without these animals warning her of the obvious evil that was in her sons.

“Well, that did the trick,” she mumbled before pouring the tea. 

Zarc turned to her and gave her a pleasant smile. “Well Yoko-san, ask away,” he said. adding some sugar to the tea and holding the cup. 

Zarc’s smile kinda unnerved Yoko, as if he always knew something she didn’t, hiding his sinister intent behind a pretty face and a smile just as pretty. It was like Dennis and Sora...smiling so sweetly but hiding evil beneath the surface.

She once recalled that when a primate smiled, it wasn’t because they were happy; instead they were actually  _ fucking pissed off _ . This is what Zarc reminded her of: some ape ready to go berserk at a moment’s notice.

“Zarc,” Yoko began, looking at the claw marks on the table. “Just tell it to me straight...what type of past did Yuri have in Academia? Professor Akaba didn’t treat him well, did he?”

Ah, so that’s what this is about.

“He wasn’t abusive, but he didn’t show any compassion to Yuri either,” Zarc explained, running a finger down Yuya’s pendulum. “My Yuri in this life grew up an orphan, all alone with nothing but Starving Venom Fusion Dragon as family. By apparent decree of Akaba, every child in the Fusion Dimension is to be sent to Academia at a certain age, so they would learn to wage war through dueling,” he took a sip of tea as Yoko gripped her cup in anger. “Yuri was good, too good, even as a child. He never suffered a single loss, be it from a student or a teacher. And the other children ostracized him for that skill. He became even more alone and isolated; even in Academia where the strong rule. 

“Then Akaba offered him a high position in his Arc-V project, and he became even  _ more  _ isolated. Companionship was replaced by the desire to destroy, and to obtain more and more power. When no one cares about you, you don’t care about anyone else. You and your desires become the priority above all else. It might end with you destroying yourself — after all, there’s nothing to lose when you’re lonely and friendless. By that point he refused to hope, refused to believe anything could change. He was alone; that’s how it is and that’s how it will always be. It’s why he resisted so much, he didn’t believe  _ anyone  _ would find him worthy of love and affection.” 

(At this point, Yoko knew that song was going to be stuck in her head now whenever it came to Yuri: deciding that only success mattered over companionship, hiding the loathing you had for yourself with a facade of being better than others only to find your self-loathing growing and your “superior” facade having to grow to hide the cracks about yourself that you couldn’t cover up so easily until it feels like you wanted to kill yourself instead of confronting the ugliness that was yourself)

“Is there anything else you’d like to ask, Yoko-san?” Zarc asked, taking another zip of the tea and waited.

Yoko nodded her head. “I...I want to know what I can do to make him feel as if he can trust me. I don’t mean to pry, but I heard a bit of what he said last night. That he didn’t deserve the love that he was given. Not mine, not his brothers’...not  _ yours _ . No child should have to feel that way, withdrawing from love like that and putting on a faux act of not  _ needing _ emotional support like this before it becomes an endless cycle they can’t escape from.” 

Zarc smiled at her again, and it was actually genuine. “Yuri just...needs to acclimate back into the idea of being loved. Treat him like you treat our other boys, and don’t let him refuse your kindness, or he’ll be convinced that you only pity him and don’t truly care for him.” 

Yoko smiled back as she placed her hand over Zarc’s. “I’ve raised Yuya for three years without a father, and all I gave him was kindness and love and support during those times when he felt like should hide in his room forever. Yuri isn’t so different; he’s like a mirror, reflecting the path Yuya could’ve taken if he had no one by his side. Speaking of which…”

“What is it now?” Zarc asked.

Yoko sighed. “All of Ray’s pieces gravitated to your sons so easily: Yuzu to Yuya, Rin to Yugo and Ruri to Yuto. If the Professor didn’t try to isolate Yuri from Serena...perhaps Yuri would’ve been better off, right?”

“Right...so?” 

“So...Serena is here right now in the Standard Dimension and she’s not going back to Academia anytime soon. Maybe it’s not too late for the two to bond?”

“Hmm, Serena said she would’ve loved to duel him, I suppose, but do you really think it’ll be easy for two socially awkward kids to get along and open up that easy?”

“I never said that they were going to bond  _ alone _ ,” Yoko clarified. “With Yuzu and Yuya by their sides, perhaps they could...oh wait.”

Yoko should’ve facepalmed herself right there and then. There was no way Yuzu was going to accept Yuri so easily; after all, Yuri did introduce himself by threatening to take her to Academia  _ and _ showed off the cards of Halil and Olga (both of which were now on the living room table as a reminder of what Yuri had done; she would have to tell Yuri to hand those in to Reiji when he was ‘“interrogated”) to show off that he wasn’t as nice as Yuya. Plus, if Zarc had instructions for Yuto and Yugo to not go near Yuzu, that also applied to Yuri too.

Great. Just  _ great _ …

Zarc could see just what Yoko was planning and shook his head. “I wish there was time for them to bond too, but Yuri needs to go back to Academia to prevent Rin and Ruri from becoming puppets to Akaba. As much as I loathe sending my Yuri back there, we don’t really have a choice if we want the girls safe.”

Yoko sighed. “I understand. I just wish there was a way to  _ physically _ show that I do care for him.”

Zarc chuckled. “You’ll figure something out, Shooting Star Yoko,” he winked at her and set his cup down. 

Before she could say anything else, the three boys slid down the firepole and into the dining room. Yuto and Yugo looked okay, in their normal attire, but it was Yuri’s attire that made Yoko curious.

Instead of his military outfit and cape, he looked quite...different. Of course the clothes he wore had purple hues just like his hair but he didn’t look like a soldier what with the coat that was essentially if Yuri decided to follow Yusho’s footsteps instead of Yuya. The coat had golden piping and he also wore a pair of black breeches and a top hat perched on his head in a crooked angle. He looked quite charming this way.

Zarc smiled at his boys, giving the three of them a warm hug. He’s not nearly enough in a physical body as much as he likes, so he takes what he can get, and gavr Yuri an especially long hug. 

“I’m guessing after breakfast, you’ll be heading to Reiji so he can interrogate Yuri, is that right?” Zarc said, petting Yuri’s head as an emphasis.

“Yep,” Yuto sighed. “We have no choice on the matter.”

Zarc shook his head, still smiling. “It’s alright. You four play along with Reiji’s plan. And soon enough we’ll get  _ exactly  _ what we want,” His smile turned sharp, as he licked his fangs. “Be careful, alright my treasures?” 

“Yes Father,” they all said in unison, which just brought more alarm into Yoko’s head. After all in all horror movies she’s watched, no matter what the situation is, if people talked in unison, especially twins, it  _ always  _ meant something bad. 

Well, the something bad was sitting on the counter across from her, so maybe she really shouldn’t be that surprised or alarmed; but she couldn’t help but think of that specific horror trope.

“I bid you  _ adieu,  _ Yoko-san,” Zarc said with a smile, bowing like a showman who just finished his performance and is saying goodbye to his audience, before Yuya was back with a small sigh and a pout. Yuya let out a sigh before turning to his mom with a big smile on his face.

“So...what’s for breakfast mom?” he asked.

“You mind leftover sleepover omelet rice?” Yoko suggested.

“I guess none of us mind,” Yuya answered with a smile. 

And so, after Yoko reheated the rice and cooked more omelettes, they sat down for breakfast (apparently sleepover freed rice was much better reheated in the microwave given how everyone devoured them heartily). But just as everyone finished eating, Yoko suddenly remembered something very important she wanted to discuss with one of her sons.

“So, Yuto,” Yoko started. “I have something to ask.”

Yoto blinked, along with the other three boys. “Y-yes Yoko  _ Kaa-san _ ?”

“Honey, what did you do to your friend?” 

“Uh...what do you mean?”

“Yuto…” Yuko said with a stern look in her eyes. “What exactly did you do to Shun Kurosaki?”

The lavender-haired boy actually went pale. Yuri raised an eyebrow; that was the second time someone brought Shun Kurosaki. And Yugo wasn’t meeting anyone’s eyes.

“I’m...uh...not sure what you mean,” Yuto said, also not meeting Yoko’s eyes. 

“Ohh, is that so? Then can you explain this for me?” she asked taking her phone out searching for that specific video and playing it. “Mieru was lucky enough to record  _ this _ while on her way finding Yuri.”

Yuya didn’t need a reminder of this Yugo on the other hand — who wasn’t told what specifically transpired — had his jaw fall into the floor, while Yuri watched with interest. 

“In my defense…” Yuto’s voice squeaked as he heard Shun begging to have his “prince” ravish him with his fury and passion.. 

“Oh, you have  _ no  _ defense for this,” Yugo mumbled, voice low, eyes still on the video as it showed Yuto tackling Shun on the ground and unbuttoning that coat of his prepping kisses all over Shun's face, and running his hands over his chest…  _ Oh gods were these claws?  _

“It...was actually... Shun’s desire…” Yuto’s voice was weak. “To...be…”

“ _ Snogged _ to death?” Yoko finished.

Yuto’s face was red, and he tried to hide it between his hands. Yuri just whistled while Zarc was roaring with laughter, clutching his sides.

_ Now I understand why Father likes her.  _ Yuri thought.

“So I’d like to repeat  _ Dragon Prince of the Xyz Dimension _ ,” said Yoko as the video continued to play and it focused on Yuya’s face turning a shade of crimson as his eyes. “What  _ did  _ you do to Shun?” 

_ Huh, no wonder Yuya was so angry this morning.  _ thought Yuri looking back at the video before smirking very amused at what was happening, ooh if he only had the time…. He licked his fangs in anticipation as wicked thoughts went through his head; thoughts which he sent to all his brothers, making them shudder (which Yoko noticed immediately as the video still had another minute of content to go through).

_ “No, Yuri. You can’t have him!”  _ Yuto growled, glaring at his brother. “ _ Shun. is. Mine!” _

The older boy raised an eyebrow. Oh he was gonna enjoy this.  _ He might be yours my dear Shadow knight, but have you forgotten? You are mine, aren’t you?  _ Yuri purred in his mind.  _ Oh, the idea of both you and your little treasure under my control...just imagine it, Shun looking in awe as I have you needy and filled with desire to obey me...and you have no choice but to! Oh how he would  _ beg _ to see you like that while I ask you to kiss him and touch him and… _

_ SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!!!!  _ Yuto screamed in his mind.  _ I don’t need this right now! I don’t need this I don’t I don’t I don’t! _

Yugo and Yuya’s faces were aflame mostly because at this point they feared their mother could hear them. Yoko couldn’t, but the expressions on their faces were enough to reveal the entire story.

“We don’t leave until  _ someone _ tells me the truth,” Yoko growled.

“It...all started when Yuto and I fought off some Obelisk Force soldiers,” Yuya hastily began. “Sora was with them and Shun decided to take care of him.”

“Uh-huh…” Yoko nodded. Why Sora decided to show his face wasn’t important, but of course he’d go after Shun in the off chance he could get a victory over the Raidraptor duelist.

“So...we’re not sure what exactly happened, but while dueling the Obelisk Force, something went through Yuto and I and it was like the two of us became one, as close to…”

Yeah, Yugo did remember sensing something like that, a connection intensifying between his younger brothers so much it became hard to recognize one bond from the other. 

“We just...I’m not sure  _ what  _ happened but we became, I suppose a little bit...unhinged. Shun must’ve seen that, and he acted like you saw in...that video,” Yuto answered, staring at the videow that was still being played by the way. 

“Please turn it off,” Yuto whined, Yuri glanced at him smirking still highly amused. “I’m  _ begging you _ ! Please turn it off,  _ kaa-san _ .”

“Fine, fine I’ll turn it off...if you promise me  _ no more public displays of affection _ from now on,” Yoko promised.

Yuto whined. Yoko just made the volume higher so the dining room was ringing with Shun’s passionate moans and Yuto’s lustful growls. 

“I’ll try I’ll try I’ll try I’ll try!” Yuto promised. 

_ “Such a pretty treasure, my Yuto,”  _ Yuri purred again.  _ “You mind if I play with him once I get a treasure of my own?” _

“DON’T YOU DARE YURI!!!” Yuto roared, lunging toward his older brother with a loud thud when they hit the floor.

Yuri was heard giggling. “My, my you don’t sound so pissed off about Ruri being captured (barring those disgusting parasites, but I can’t blame you). But why are you so defensive about her big brother anyhow?” he asked, a smirk in place and eyes half laid as he gently cupped Yuto’s chin.

“As much as you don’t want me to agree with him, Yuri makes a good point,” said Yoko. “Yuto...tell me the truth, you used some mind control magic on Shun to make him like this. But  _ why  _ did you make him act like this?”

“I...I couldn’t lose him,  _ kaa-san, _ ” Yuto answered. “Ruri was taken away and if Shun got carded, I’d never forgive myself. Father promised that I’d get Ruri back safe, and I trust Father’s word, always. But even I can’t guarantee Shun’s and I never wanna lose him to anyone or anything. The thing in the streets, that was… um well it was unexpected to be honest, the whole, turned on by me going berserk was actually a surprise... ” 

Yuri tilted his head at the explanation before giving Yuto a peck on the nose. “Oh I’ll  _ never  _ take Shun from you, my phantom. That I promise...But you know the games I like to play, don’t you?” Yuto shuddered, Yuri’s smirk widened. 

“Going berserk?” Yoko repeated, ignoring the type of ‘games’ Yuri mentioned. “Did this involve unleashing some strange dragon that you never had before?”

“Uh……” Yuto eyes locked with Yuya’s. “...Yes?” 

Yoko groaned; she was kinda getting sick of Zarc making dragons out of thin air. “What was its name and how do you summon it?”

“Um...Supreme King Violent Dragon Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon and it’s an Xyz/Pendulum monster,” said Yuya, pulling a card out from his Duel Disk and placing it on the table. “We Xyz Summon it using Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon.” 

Yuri smirked. The dragon was absolutely  _ deadly _ ; he couldn’t wait to see what would happen if Odd-Eyes fused with Starving Venom.

“So that’s a thing now?” Yoko asked, knowing that Yuya had two  _ Fusion _ /Pendulum monsters under his belt: Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (from when Yuzu recapped Yuya’s duel with Mieru) and Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (which she saw for herself when Yuya dueled Gongenzaka). “And let me guess, your father gave you that dragon, right?”

“Well...not exactly?” Yuya answered. “He more or less guided us to create it.”

“What?! When did this happen? How did this happen? And wait...don’t you need to use monsters with  _ levels _ to Xyz Summon?!”

“This happened two nights ago, the night before I was supposed to duel Kachidoki,” Yuya explained. “After I made Black Mirror Xyz Dragon…” A tic formed underneath Yoko’s eye. “It represented the darkness in my heart that showed that it could be used for  _ good _ . Mom, you already saw him in the Action Duel. He’s not evil, just very...playful.”

“And to be more specific on Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon’s creation,” Yugo interjected. “It happened after these two went into rage and basically wanted to murder Sora and Serena. Father told them to channel that rage, and they...made that dragon.”

“....I’m sorry, I’m still stuck on the two of you actually  _ making  _ dragons,” Yoko apologized, feeling a migraine about to form. “Since when do you have that power?” 

“Um, we don’t know, just Father told us to do it…” Yuto explained. Yuya and Yugo nodded. 

“But what about my third question: you used an  _ Xyz monster _ to Xyz summon it. You can’t Xyz Summon with an Xyz monster!”

“Normally you can’t,” Yuto clarified. “Not unless you have a ‘Rank-Up-Magic’ Spell Card like Shun does or you use an effect that can change a Rank to a Level, like this card.”

Yuto showed Yoko a card, Phantom Knights’ Possession. Yoko read the text carefully before nodding her head.

“It’s also possible to do it with these Pendulum monsters I have — Xiangke Magician’s Pendulum effect to make an Xyz Monster have a level instead of a Rank and then Xiangsheng Magician’s effect makes that level equal to another monster’s level,” Yuya added. “Yuto just had a better way of doing so.”

“Are there any  _ other _ monsters I should be aware about, Yuya?”

“Well...I do have these — “

Yoko looked at her watch; damn it, they wasted a lot of time. “Tell me later; we need to hustle.”

“Oh right,” Yuya said. “Time to head to Reiji, Yuri. Meanwhile, I still have to ‘participate’ in this Battle Royale.”

Yuri grinned. “Actually no. I have a plan and you’re coming with me,” he told Yuya. 

“What?!” Yuya shouted. “B...but, what about…the tournament...”

“What’s more important, Yuya? A shitty tournament or stopping the Akabas?”

“But...what if…”

“I’ll convince Reiji to lie, after all he’s been doing it enough and about practically everything else. Telling people you’ve been dueling all this time shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Yuri winked and kissed Yuya’s cheek. 

“Yuri, don’t forget your ‘trophies’ on the living room table,” said Yoko, pointing to the cards on the table. “You do owe it to Reiji.” 

“...Right…” Yuri said, his mood getting a bit sour with guilt. He didn’t really  _ need _ to card them. Scaring them with Starving Venom Fusion Dragon would’ve been enough to get his point across. Still, he got out of his chair to take the cards to pocket them. Thank goodness these two were exchange students.

“Shouldn’t Yuri be wearing his military outfit again? So Reiji wouldn’t be asking more questions than needed?” Yugo asked. “We don’t...want you to get involved in whatever he’s planning,  _ kaa-san _ .”

“It’s already too late, given how your Father and I confronted his mom the other day,” Yoko replied. “Just say that he found these clothes lying about and he obtained a liking towards them or whatever.”

“But what about Obelisk Force?” asked Yuto. “They could — “

“There are at least ten competent duelists that should be able to team up against them,” Yoko sighed. “They’ll be fine.”

“Yes Kaa-san,” Yuto said with a sigh. 

With that, the four boys and Yoko entered the garage, where Yoko pressed a button on the wall to open the garage door.

_ “Shun? Are you alright?”  _ Yuto asked making sure no harm has come to his treasure. He knew Shun was strong, and he has been feeling him in the back of his mind all this time, but he could feel the annoyance and anger in Shun right now. 

_ “Tsukikage, Serena, Gongenzaka and I are...not doing good...thanks to some dumbass named Shingo Sawatari whose smart move has actually  _ decreased our lifepoints significantly _ !”  _ Shun growled.

Yuto hissed and his brothers felt his anger.  _ “Where are you now, Shun??” _

_ “Volcano section.” _

_ “Are there any shadows around you?”  _

_ “I uh...yes? Why, my prince?” _

Yuto growled before turning to his family. “I’ll meet you all at Reiji, I have to be somewhere,” he told all four before heading to a corner in the house and disappearing into the faint shadows. 

Yoko’s jaw dropped. “I’m sorry  _ since when can he do that?  _ Can  _ all  _ of you do that?” 

“Umm...no, just Yuto,” Yuya said, “We have other powers, like me shapeshifting.”

Yoko shook her head. “Ok, I’m gonna need a list of all of your powers, later. Now let’s get you three to LDS.” 

“Yes mom,” Yuya said with a sigh. This was gonna be a long day.

*************

Even with Shingo’s blunder, Obelisk Force went down thanks to Gongenzaka (who had his own set of Pendulum monsters) handing Shingo’s Abyss Actor Pendulum monsters to Shun so he could Xyz Summon Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon to turn the trio of Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds into scrap metal. Shingo was immediately boasting that if it weren’t for  _ him _ , “Yuzu” and the ninja would’ve been toast.

And they weren’t the only group to be victorious. Yuzu, Teppei and Michiyo were somehow victorious in their 3 vs 3 match against Obelisk Force despite being totally unprepared for such a thing. Teppei and Michiyo’s decks meshed well and Yuzu’s use of Aria and Elegy to prevent her Melodious monsters from being destroyed acted like a huge buffer against Obelisk Force’s relentless assault. And while Mieru didn’t get involved in any duels — since she didn’t carry her Duel Disk on her — her scrying skills did make it easier for everyone to gather at the Volcano quadrant.

(And as this was going on, Tatsuya had accepted his loss to Reira, even complimenting how Reira used different types of summoning methods like Reiji. Reira looked taken aback at the compliment and smiled at the praise)

In the Volcano section, Yuzu, Serena along with Michiyo, Teppei, Mieru, Tsukikage, Shingo, Gongenzaka and Shun, were exchanging stories of what they went through and how they were filled in on the Obelisk Force, and the other dimensions (barring Serena’s eerie resemblance to Yuzu). Shingo was boasting that this victory would grant him a position in the Lancers…

Which was the wrong thing to say because everyone was hounding on him.

“Lancers?” asked Gongenzaka, narrowing his eyes. “I, the man, Gongenzaka, demand an explanation to this ‘Lancers’ you just mentioned.”

“We  _ all _ want an explanation,” Michiyo growled.

“I...would rather stay out of this,” Teppei noted, raising a hand.

“O-oh the Lancers are nothing, you see?” Shingo waved his arms around trying to deny anything, in case Reiji wanted him to keep his mouth shut. 

“Nothing?” asked Serena. “The Lancers aren’t ‘nothing’. They're supposed to be the elite task force heading off to stop Professor Akaba from his plans of uniting the dimensions together!”

“I was gonna say that!” Shingo whined. “Wait, how do  _ you  _ know about such a thing?”

“Because she and I were in on Reiji’s plan for a while now,” Shun answered. 

"Oh so  _ that's  _ the dumbass," A voice made all of them jump in place, even Shun, came from behind them. 

Shingo turned around and screamed. “YOU! The guy who attacked me at the warehouse!”

Yuto snarled, baring his fangs. This made goosebumps run down Shingo's skin, and him to jump in place. “And you’re the one who accused Yuya Sakaki of attacking you, right?”

“He did!” Shingo explained, body shivering like he was dunked into a pool of ice water. “I mean, you did, and I — I….“

Yuto grasped onto Shingo by the collar and pulled him close. “Let me make this clear you absolute moron; you are going to apologize to Yuya Sakaki and his mother about your blunder or  _ I _ will make sure you never pick up a Duel Disk again! Got that?”

_ “This guy did what?!”  _ Shun thought. 

_ “Yeah, he and the Akabas caused Yuya a lot of grief over what I did.”  _ Yuto sighed. 

“What is it that you want?” Shingo stammered. “If it’s money you’re after then...wait, why are you so obsessed about Yuya anyway? Hell, why do you even  _ look _ like him?”

“I’m not the one who wants the money,” Yuto clicked his teeth. “But perhaps if your  _ daddy _ offered to write a check to give You Show Duel School money so it could pay for renovations,  _ maybe _ I won’t decide to kick your teeth in, you clown!”

Shingo whimpered as he saw what looked like Yuto’s eyes glowing. He was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to — 

“YUTO!!!!” Yuzu screamed, summoning her  _ harisen _ to slap him across the back of the head.

Shun got a shocked look on his face, not sure how to react to that. It was too fast and too sudden and Yuzu still had Ruri's face. But he knew that Ruri would never hit Yuto like that. And Shingo silently thanked Yuzu for saving his ass.

_ “I’m fine.”  _ Yuto answered.  _ “Yuya gets hit with it all the time and it doesn’t hurt.” _

“Yuto!” Yuzu gasped, the hand holding the  _ harisen _ trembling. “Where have you been?”

"More importantly, where did you even come from?" Serena asked. 

“None of that matters right now,” said Yuto. “What matters is that we all have to prepare for when Reiji makes his big announcement about the Lancers.”

“Where’s Darling?” asked Mieru, staring at her crystal apple. “I don’t see him roaming about the city.”

“He’s...busy with something important,” Yuto answered.

"Does it have to do with Yuri?" Serena asked and Yuto blinked looking at her. Father's powers around her, faint but there, hugging her like a protective aura. 

He nodded. "It does. Oh Mieru -chan can you tell if the Obelisk force has retreated fully or is that too much?" He asked the little soothsayer, as Shun came to stand firmly by his side, putting a hand over Yuto's shoulder, Yuto leaning to the touch, giving Shun a soft smile. 

Mieru nodded her head, ignoring Yuto and Shun’s signs of affection (as she was still traumatized from yesterday’s “show”). “There are no more signs of Obelisk Force in the city; after their humiliating defeats, I think they want to go back to Academia to lick their wounds.”

“So the mission was a success; Yuzu and Serena are safe and we’ve only had minimal casualties,” said Yuto.

“Minimal casualties?” asked Michiyo. “Wait, Halil and Olga! I haven’t seen them after I dueled yesterday. They...they got…”

“Turned into cards?!” Teppei finished, teeth chattering.

“That also happened to the Knights of Duel too,” Yuto said. “And they’re in the hands of the Obelisk Force soldiers who turned them into cards.”

“My brother returned to Reiji to deliver the news,” said Tsukikage, arms over his chest like panels of a folding screen. “But I have seen no signs of Dennis or the Ryozanpaku students either.”

“Wait! I’m right here!”

Rage flared in Yuto at hearing both the name and voice making Shun wince at the assault on his senses. This also was felt by his brothers. Serena shuddered slightly when she noticed the glare in Yuto’s eye she also thought she heard Blood Moon whimper in fear. Yuto making something as fearsome as her  _ Dragon  _ whimper? She didn't expect that.

_ "M-my prince?"  _ Shun whimpered and Yuto was trying  _ extremely  _ hard not to slit Dennis' throat with his claws right now. It was actually a miracle he didn't slice his own hands trying to keep his claws at bay. 

“Dennis!” Yuzu gasped, seeing Dennis approach them from a large rock. “Where have you been?”

“On the run from those strange blue soldier guys,” he answered. “And...you’re not going to believe this but…”

No one said a word as he pulled out two cards from the pocket of his vest. When he flipped the cards over, they gasped.

“Those guys are from Ryozanpaku Academy!” said Gongenzaka. “As much as I hate those guys for playing dirty, even they don’t deserve a fate like this.”

“How did this happen?” asked Teppei. Even if he himself can be a bit of a jerk, he admits that he doesn’t go around acting like a smug prick or pummeling his opponents in order to obtain an Action Card.

“It’s a bit of a long story,” Dennis said. “You see, it all started with me venturing into a deeper part of the Jungle section. I was on the run from any of those ‘Obelisk Force’ soldiers, hiding in a tree so they couldn't get to me. But then, I noticed those two bullies being carded so I high-tailed it out of there.”

“We’re just glad your safe,” Yuzu said with relief. “That could’ve been awful, don’t you think?”

“Indeed,” Dennis smiled.

But on the inside, his smile had a whole different meaning. Like beneath the surface was a sinister beast biding his time before he devoured everyone in sight.

_ If only you guys knew the  _ real _ story _ ...he thought to himself, recalling what truly happened.

…

…

…

_ “Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.” _

_ Isao Kachidoki muttered this as he looked at the carded forms of Makoto Takeda and Ken Umesugi. The fact they lost to some flamboyant performer with wavy hair and freckles was unacceptable.  _

_ Those blue-coats, on the other hand? Well, after those two lost, it was quite easy to rip apart those Hunting Hounds thanks to Idaten the Shooting Star’s effect dropping their attack down to 0. A dog with no fangs would have no ability to bite back. _

_ Plus, the fight against those three was a good distraction from what was going through his mind. _

_ It was already bad enough that he was shunned by his fellow students at Ryozanpaku Academy, but now he had nightmares. Nightmares of being chased by a humongous black dragon whose eyes reflected a scared panicking Kachidoki. No matter how fast he ran or what types of obstacles he set up, the dragon continued to pursue him. _

_ And worse, the thing that kept him up at night was  _ him _ .  _

_ That boy with crimson eyes and a devilish grin who rode upon that dark dragon’s back and laughed! Laughed, at Kachidoki as this was all a joke. _

_ “Oh Kachidoki~” The demonic boy teased. “Let’s play FETCH!” _

_ And Kachidoki screamed, punching a tree so hard that it fell with a loud thud. But it did nothing. It did nothing to rid himself of these feelings of fear and anxiety plaguing him. _

_ “Let me guess, it’s about Yuya Sakaki isn’t it?? _

_ Kachidoki snarled as he turned to see Dennis Macfield approaching him with a smile on his face. _

_ “What do you want?” asked the Ryozanpaku student. _

_ “I’m here to give you an offer, Isao Kachidoki,” Dennis chuckled. “I've seen the way you duel, your absolute ruthlessness. What happened with you and Yuya's duel was an absolute tragedy. Using that Xyz dragon of his, I mean where did he get that?" _

_ "Get to the point!" Kotchidoki roared angrily at the Academia spy. _

_ "You have a lot of potential, your use of fusion is especially admirable, as good as those of us from Academia, even better. So I'm here with an offer. You see, these soldiers here were absolutely pathetic. But you? I can bring you to a place that would make your dueling skills even better, and then, you can have that rematch, and destroy Yuya Sakaki at the same time.  _

_ “What do you say? Do we have a deal?" Dennis asked extending his hand.  _

_ Kotchidoki narrowed his eyes at the Academia spy, it sounded too good to be true. _

_ But then again, what choice did he have? If his own school abandoned him, and he could not see his family until he was champion, who did he have left to turn to? _

_ He wanted to face that darkness head on. He wanted to rip that smile out of Yuya Sakaki’s face _

_ Kachidoki smirked and shook hands with Dennis. “Lead the way.” _

_ “Oh I  _ always  _ do…” Dennis snickered, baring his teeth. _

… 

….. 

…. . 

Yuto had his head buried in Shun's chest taking deep breaths, and hugging Shun as he tried to calm his rage down. It was too hard to do it now that Dennis was so close to his claws and all he had to do was just one swipe of his hand and that treacherous bastard would be  _ dead _ . 

He took deeper and deeper breaths, trying to get lost in Shun's scent which was soothing and familiar and he  _ loved it _ . He nuzzled to the older boy's chest, Shun's arms were around him, running up and down his back and they felt oh so nice. 

_ "My prince?”  _ Shun asked, wondering what had caused Yuto to look close to breaking down. _ "What.. "  _

Yuto cut him off. _ "Shhh, later my treasure, later,"  _ giving Shun a loving peck on his lips before burying his head back in Shun's chest. 

“Uhh…” Shingo said, noticing the display of affection. “Is anyone going to comment on that or what? Am I the only one noticing that or something?”

“Give them a break!” Serena snapped. “I mean, you’d be acting like that too if you were afraid of losing someone close after your home got destroyed and you're alone in another fucking dimension!”

"Besides," Gongenzaka pointed out. "Considering  _ earlier  _ events, this is rather tame." 

“E...Earlier events?” Yuzu repeated.

“I, the man, Gongenzaka request that you do not ask me to expand on that, Yuzu,” Gongenzaka replied.

Mieru’s face turned bright red at that. Yuzu raised her eyebrow at that reaction, considering how MIeru fawned over Yuya and all.

Yuzu then turned to see both Shun and Yuto walking away. "Wait, where are you two going? We should stick together!"

"We have to leave," Yuto said, turning back to her now looking calm, even though deep down rage boiled like the volcano's lava. Which only Shun and Yuto's three brothers could sense. "We have something important to talk to Reiji about," he told her. 

"Well...can't it wait?" Yuzu asked, really worried for these two. “You still haven’t told me where you’ve gone…”

"I’m sorry, Yuzu," Yuto said before squeezing Shun's hand lightly and the two of them left the Volcano section. When everyone's prying eyes were away and Yuto was sure all cameras around him were disabled, he walked through the shadows pulling Shun with him. In a matter of seconds were at the LDS tower just as Yoko had parked her car. 

“H...how did…” Shun asked, trying to process just what happened. He shivered; those last few seconds was like he dove into the ocean without a lifejacket. The icy feeling numbing his soul.

Yuto kissed him. "I'm sorry, my love. I guess I should have warned you. Was walking through the Shadows too unpleasant?" He asked caressing Shun's cheek lovingly. 

Shun couldn't help but to shiver in delight and press more to Yuto's touch. A part of him was really happy, so many small loving touches from his Prince were so nice and comforting. He wished for more; especially the all consuming pleasure Yuto could give him. But he was also worried. Yuto was acting strangely, yesterday twice and right now anger and rage have flared in him, and Shun didn't understand. He wasn't told anything, and his worry for his prince, and his inadequacy to protect him like a knight should didn't set well with him. 

“Yuto,” Shun began. “I felt your anger within my mind and I heard storm clouds forming. Something troubled you...please tell me. How can I help you?”

Yuto shook his head. "You're doing perfect, just being there for me. I know how you react and if I'm consumed with blinding rage, I can only imagine how badly  _ you'll  _ react. That’s why I need us to be alone before I tell you more," Yuto explained. 

"But… Yuto…" 

Yuto kissed two fingers and placed them over Shun's lips, effectively stopping him from talking more, and hugged him, taking a deep breath of Shun's scent now that both of them were relatively alone. 

_ “Please...please tell me…”  _ Shun thought.  _ “What’s going on? Is it about Ruri? Is she okay?” _

_ "Tonight, I'll tell you everything tonight. I promise." _

And that's when his three brothers arrived. Shun took a glance at Yuri and snarled. This...this was the same bastard with Yuto’s face that  _ kidnapped his sister _ !”

"You okay?" Yuya asked, putting a hand on Yuto's shoulder. 

He gave a sigh and nodded. "I will be." 

“You…” Shun stated, pointing a finger at Yuri. “What are  _ you  _ doing here?!”

“He’s with us, Shun,” Yuto said, placing a hand over Shun’s. “Father helped him remember. He’s sorry for what he did; Yuri didn’t know any better.”

Shun was still shaking with rage and hatred . “My prince…forgive me for this.”

“Wait, what do you — SHUN!”

Shun wasted little time, charging towards Yuri and punching him square in the jaw. Yuri stepped back, hand on his cheek. Military training at Academia made him able to stand his ground, but he knew that he deserved Shun’s rage.

“You think...that you coming here is going to bring her back?” Shun hissed, golden eyes glowing as he kept punching and slapping Yuri. Yuri did not defend himself, nor scream. He just took each and every blow even though his cheeks were turning red and he was seeing stars. Back and back and back until Yuri hit a wall and Shun loomed over him like a hungry lion. “My sister...my home...everyone and everything I cared about is gone...ALL BECAUSE OF YOU ACADEMIA SCUM! And you’re the worst of them all, Yuri! You’re that Professor’s little  _ bitch _ , doing what he says without a shred of sympathy in your heart! Why? Why my sister? Why Heartland?! WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MAN WANT? HUH? ANSWER ME!”

Yuri said nothing, licking the blood pouring out from a cut on his bottom lip. He deserved to be attacked; he deserved this punishment. He ripped a family apart without even knowing  _ why _ Ruri was so important and was going to have Professor Akaba offer her up for  _ his _ selfish desires.

** _"SHUN!" _ ** Came both a yell from Yuto's lips and one from his mind that made Shun clutch his head in pain, and fall to his knees. “ ** _ENOUGH!”_ **

Tears were falling down Shun's cheeks as he slammed a fist onto the cement ground in fury. It didn’t matter if Yuri had the same face as his prince; Yuri caused all of this suffering and it was  _ okay _ for Yuto to forgive him?!

“Yuri, are you all right?” asked Yuya, seeing the tears that were falling down his older brother’s face. “Yuri...it’s okay…” Yugo put his hands on Yuri's shoulder and started inspecting his face. 

"Of course it’s okay, Yuya, Yugo…” Yuri laughed a little. “I mean, I  _ did _ do all of that. I was the reason why Ruri was kidnapped. I...I caused so much damage, even more than I realized. And to think that I was truly  _ forgiven  _ for all of this…”

Yuri broke down into tears once more as Yuya and Yugo hugged him tight, sending him their thoughts of love and forgiveness, feelings that Yuri didn’t want as he turned his face away from them.

Yuto felt conflicted: Shun had every right to be angry at Yuri for what he did, but Yuri truly  _ was _ sorry for what he did. If Shun was not considered his treasure, then this would’ve been a crime worthy of death, in regards to assaulting one of the princes.  _ “Father...how do we ease Shun and Yuri’s minds about all of this?” _

** _Why should I ease the mind of the one who _ ** **assaulted My son?! ** Zarc roared in Yuto’s mind and the Xyz prince winced, eyes filling with tears .  ** _Give me one good reason why this bird should not have his wings clipped right here and now!_ **

_ “Because Shun is hurt and angry at this!”  _ Yuto pleaded.  _ “Shun lost his own  _ sister!  _ Yuri had no idea why she was needed until we told him. And if Shun ever finds out about Dennis or Professor Akaba’s plans to place that parasite into her mind he’ll hurt Yuri even more! Please Father, I can't lose my treasure. Please don’t make me lose Shun. I’ll take any punishment you want but pleasepleaseplease I DON’T WANT TO LOSE SHUN! Please Papa  _ don't take him away from me _ !” _ Yuto whimpered in the end. 

Yuto still remembered how Shun carded Fusion users all over Maiami CIty, feeling as if that by doing so, it would ease the anger in his heart over Academia’s assault and losing Ruri. But no, it just made him feel worse in the end. Even after defeating Sora was he still not satisfied.

Zarc narrowed his eyes. He understood Shun’s anguish; he was a father after all, and he would massacre anyone who would try to take his sons away from him. He also did not want to distress Yuto more by taking his precious treasure away, not after everything he's been through, and after all he did to get to keep Shun by his side. 

And yet the little bird  _ harmed  _ his Yuri. One strike would have sentenced him to death in Zarc's eyes and yet he continued to strike and harm his son several times over. That was unacceptable. 

No, Shun Kurosaki will live for Yuto's sake, but he will also be punished in retaliation for harming Yuri. 

** _Very well..._ ** Zarc growled.  ** _Your Bird shall live, my specter...but I will return with his punishment at a later time. Is that understood? _ **

_ "Yes, Father. Thank you. Please forgive me for what he's done." _

** _All is forgiven, Yuto. This was not your fault. I should’ve expected that your treasure would have such...volatile reactions to Yuri._ **

_ “What do we do about Yuri though? He’s...he’s not emotionally prepared to answer Reiji’s questions.”  _

** _Do not worry precious, your brother is very mentally prepared when it comes to manipulating an enemy, he will be alright. _ **

Yuto put his hand on the back of Shun's neck. "What you did Shun," he said voice steady and angry. "Is a crime worthy of execution."

Shun clenched his fists. "I understand. If I am to die, so be it, my prince. Do as you wish.”

“You will not die, my treasure. Father decrees that you shall live. However, you will be punished for the assault on my older brother…. By my hands, whatever punishment Father desires.”

Shun swallowed. “Yes, my Prince.”

Yuto let out a shaky breath and wiped his tears. "Never attack Yuri again, that's an order. He is on our side. He is sorry for what he did."

“Yes, Yuto.”

“Apologize to him right now.”

Shun bit his lips, he was still on his hands and knees, head cast down, with Yuto's claws around his neck. How..how could he apologize to the one who caused his agony? Captured his sister, causing him all this grief? Him! Apologizing to someone from  _ Academia _ ?!

" ** _Apologize_ ** , Shun," Yuto repeated, his claws drawing blood from his neck. “ _ Now _ .” he growled in Shun's ear. 

Shun nodded his head as he rose to his feet, staring into the face of the boy who took Ruri away...and instead of that sinister, smug boy who stood so tall, so proud…

He was in the arms of Yuya and Yugo, looking so sad and full of guilt. A stark contrast to the one with the sadistic grin on his face.

"For- forgive me, Prince Yuri.” Shun began, forcing the words out like he just swallowed glass. “I should...should not have struck you, harmed you, or touched you in anyway. It was wrong of me to attack you." 

Yuri waved him off, wiping away the remaining tears in his eyes. "It's alright. You did have every right to be angry. I took your sister away; I know how I'd react now if my precious brothers were taken from me. I truly am sorry, Shun Kurosaki. You might not forgive me now, but I swear to you, I'll make sure your sister stays safe." 

Shun really wasn't sure how to feel about that but, there was really only one response. "Thank you." He took a deep breath before turning to Yuto, dropping to his knees. "Forgive me, my prince. I've failed you, I'm not worthy to be yours. I don’t deserve your mark at all..."

Yuto sighed, covering his face with his hands. This was a mess. He was angry at Shun, he was angry at  _ himself  _ for bringing Shun. But he understood what Shun was going through; if Yuri wasn't his own brother he would not have had any sympathy for the one who took Ruri away. Father was livid, his own brothers were just as angry, and he didn't know what to do.

"This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen," he sighed in dismay, tears in his eyes. 

"Well," Yuri started. "Since I was the one assaulted, I think it's only fair if I get some retribution from this, and it can ease your mind on forgiving Shun." 

Yuto and Shun looked at Yuri. Yuto blinked. "What is it you want, Yuri?" 

He licked his lips. “Remember that little thing we talked about at breakfast?”

_ “Oh no….”  _ Yuya and Yugo thought, realizing just what Yuri was planning.

Yuri sauntered towards Shun and knelt down. “Let me see your pretty neck, treasure?”

Shun only had enough time to gasp before Yuri’s fangs sank deep into his jugular. Yuri grinned, knowing that his venom would be  _ much more potent _ on a human in comparison to his little brothers.

_ “Thank goodness mom’s not here right now.”  _ Yuya thought, recalling that Yoko would meet up with them after the interrogation was over.

"Yu-Yuri, you can't be serious right now," Yuto stammered, watching Shun collapse onto his side.

"It's retribution Shadow knight,” Yuri chuckled. “What do you say? We do that and no hard feelings. Father probably will have you punish him separately, but I wouldn’t mind giving him a warning of my own." 

“...Fine,” Yuto sighed. “But make it quick; Reiji’s waiting for us and I’m not sure if this place has cameras or not.”

(They did, but thankfully Reiji was out of his office to talk to everyone about the Lancers Division, Nakajima was talking to Hikage about the situation and Himika was announcing Reira’s victory to everyone’s face in the stadium. Shuzo looked like he was going to puke, even though Tatsuya happily had his 2nd place trophy on his lap.)

“We have all the time in the world,” Yuri purred, half-mast eyes looking at Yuto all over. That video Yoko showed this morning gave him so many ideas that he wanted to implement now. “Now then, you don’t mind if I take a bite, do you?”

Yuto gulped as he watched Shun panting for breath, a sheen of sweat forming on his face before Yuri stood in front of him, blocking his view of his treasure.

“All eyes on me,” Yuri commanded, pink eyes glowing. He licked his fangs. “Don’t blink.”

Yuto’s eyes widened when he felt Yuri bite him once again. He gripped onto Yuri’s shoulders, mind slowly clouding over as if a sudden fog has just appeared. 

“Keep looking at me, my phantom,” Yuri purred, running a finger down Yuto’s neck. “Only at me. Obey me.”

“Uh...we’ll just go wait for you at the elevator,” said Yugo, he pulled Yuya away and the two of them ran. They still weren’t comfortable with being so out in the open where people could possibly see, and this was Yuri and Yuto...and Shun alone. 

The three didn’t pay attention to Yuya and Yugo leaving. Shun was filled with lust, warring inside him for both Yuri and his Prince, and both were increasing incredibly strongly. 

Yuto let out a shaky breath, as the lust in Shun’s mind affecting him even before Yuri bit him. “Yu-Yuri…” the light in his eyes quickly faded, and a small loving smile on his face appeared. “Yuri~” he said dreamily. 

Yuri smirked in delight, licking his fangs. “Shun, stand,” he commanded. “Now stand against the wall like a good soldier, and don’t take your eyes off of the two of us.” 

Shun’s mind and will were long gone by now, he shivered hearing Yuri’s voice and sighed before doing as he was told. Gold eyes glazed over at how Yuri stroked Yuto’s cheek. His lips parted seeing that; oh how he wished it was  _ him _ being touched like that. 

“Good,” Yuri purred and Shun shuddered at the praise. “Now you, my dear Shadow knight, face your treasure, I want him to see your face as you drown in  _ ecstasy  _ at my hands, while he stands there unable to do anything else,” he said huskily and licked Yuto’s cheek, making the younger brother moan and arch his neck, before doing as he was told. Neither of them had any thought except doing as they were told...and it felt so  _ good to obey _ . 

Yuri started working Yuto up, touching him, petting him, kissing him anywhere his lips could reach, unbuttoning his shirt, and ravishing him senseless and mindless with pleasure, he has been commanded not to hide a sound. Oh yes, this would be the  _ perfect _ way to torture Shun, seeing his beloved prince transformed into a mindless puppet for Yuri to command for as long as he wants. Yuto was flushed, panting and shivering with one word on his lips.

“Yuri.Yuri...  _ Yuri.”  _

“Burn this image in your mind, Shun Kurosaki,” Yuri cackled, unbuttoning the top two buttons of Yuto’s shirt. “Yuto may be your Prince, but he is  _ my  _ treasure and he obeys  _ me _ .”

Shun’s breath was ragged, lips dry, body trembling with the desire to move go and touch, but all his body could do was stand there as he watched, and as commanded the picture of Yuto writhing in pleasure, flushed and mindless was now in his mind. 

Yuri purred again, pinching Yuto’s nipple underneath his shirt and the boy whined and couldn’t help but to move about. “Now Yuto dear,  _ place your claws over Shun’s neck. _ ” 

He didn’t hesitate at all; he couldn’t hesitate even if he wanted to. With a ragged breath Yuto walked to Shun and placed his claws over the boy’s neck, the tips of said claw pricking the pale skin. Shun’s eyes widened slightly, not sure what Yuri was playing at but that fear was replaced with the need to follow any and all of his commands.

Yuto trembled as he obeyed and kept his claws there all while Yuri hissed in Shun’s ear. “Now, let’s get one thing straight Shun Kurosaki, the only reason you landed so many hits on my face is because I  _ allowed it _ . I’m a dragon just as my Father and brothers and had I chose, you would no longer have an arm, or as Yuto can demonstrate...” he guided one of Yuto’s claws lightly over Shun’s neck. breaking the skin, letting a small trail of blood fall down. “Simply slash open that pretty neck of yours.

“I am stronger than you, and more powerful than you will ever be.” Yuri continued, lapping up the blood. “You are a knight, a treasure, and right now I am your master. More than that I am your  _ master’s  _ master, isn’t that right Yuto?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately, and Yuri pressed to Yuto’s back. 

“Who do you belong to Yuto?”

“You.”

“Who do you  _ love _ ?”

“...You,” Yuto answered. With a wicked smirk, Yuri licked his neck and Yuto let out a strangled moan. 

“Good boy,” Yuri purred before kissing Shun. The fog faded from Yuri’s venom but the lust still lingered. “Have I made myself clear, Shun Kurosaki?”

Shun swallowed. He couldn’t nod, or really move an inch with Yuto’s claws still on his neck. “Yes... Prince Yuri,” he answered.

Yuri smirked; it felt good to put people in their place. “Good boy. Now you can let him go Yuto,” Yuto put his arm down and backed away, still under Yuri’s control. 

“Y-Yuto?” Shun asked hesitantly. 

Yuto didn’t acknowledge being called, merely stood there, mind waiting for more commands. 

“How long...will he stay like that, Prince Yuri?” Shun questioned.

Yuri tilted his head looking at Yuto with a smirk, before running a finger down Yuto’s exposed chest, making the boy shiver. “Well, my venom naturally runs its course on my brothers but...I can always bite him again and again and  _ again  _ to prolong this state. Would you like that, Kurosaki? He is beautiful like this, is he not? Now be honest, how does your  _ prince  _ look in a tranquil state of trance?”

All Shun could do was swallow hard. Yuto had a peaceful happy smile on his face, and Prince Yuri had done more than a good job in making him look debauched and ravished. He couldn’t help but think Yuto was so gorgeous. 

Yuri chuckled at the hungry look in Shun’s eyes. “Yes, he’s so  _ tempting  _ like this, isn’t he?” Yuri asked as he grabbed Yuto’s chin and made him face Yuri who was by his side now. He sighed running his thumb over Yuto’s lips “Oh I’m so tempted to keep him this way, mindless and obedient and all mine~ but we can’t have all that we want, and we do need to visit Reiji after all,” he said with a regretful sigh. “Ah well, it was fun while it lasted. Now then my sweet phantom,” Yuri ran a finger down Yuto’s cheek. “Time to wake up~” 

And Yuri kissed the Xyz prince. Yuto moaned before breaking the kiss panting, Yuri licking his lips in delight. 

“Satisfied?” Yuto asked as he started to indignantly button up his shirt, his face still flushed and him not looking at either Shun or Yuri. 

“Plenty,” said Yuri. “Now, we can’t keep our little ruby and crystal waiting. I’ve got to give Reiji what he wants after all.”

As he began to walk, he passed by Shun and whispered, “Know your place, treasure. That was just a  _ warning _ .”

“It was,” Yuto reaffirmed, and Shun’s head snapped to Yuto. “He could’ve done worse.” 

“Oh don’t forget that Father would’ve been even worse than me, Yuto~” Yuri added as the three began to walk to the elevator. “Pray that you never go that far again, Shun. 

“Because Father’s known to have a lack of  _ mercy _ .”

Shun just nodded his head, and said nothing else. Not even when Yuya and Yugo asked what happened.

**************

“Thanks Solomon! These will really help out.”

Waving the owner of the game shop goodbye, Yoko walked down the street, smiling at the new deck of cards and four or five booster packs recommended to go with this new Synchro based deck. She had a lot of studying to do if she wanted to know the ins and outs of this deck.

From what she read online, Dragunity monsters were a variety of WIND attribute Winged-Beast and Dragon type monsters with the former being equipped onto the latter as Spell Cards (hence why it only had  _ one _ Spell and Trap Card altogether). It was if you armed children with guns and told them to shoot the first thing they saw. 

It was a really good deck to make a variety of Synchro Summons. And with Yugo being the expert on Synchro Summoning — no offense to Gongenzaka, although this deck and its lack of Spell and Trap support was quite similar to his Superheavy Samurai monsters — she’d be riding the streets as Shooting Star Yoko again in no time!

As Yoko walked down the street, she paused. Turning to the shop window, she noticed that she was standing in front of the same jewelry store where Yuto and Yugo asked to buy those bracelets a few days ago.

The same bracelets that were going to be used to save Rin and Ruri somehow. Through dark magic instead of protection spells. Yoko didn’t remotely trust Zarc; nothing good ever came from dark powers and deals with the devil. And while Zarc seems to only be able to possess Yuya, either that or Yuya is his favorite son to possess, a thought which made a shudder run down Yoko’s spine. But as far as she knows, Zarc’s powers are the only thing that can protect these girls, and he  _ did  _ promise that Rin and Ruri would not be mindless puppets to him, which is leagues above what Akabastard was going to do to them.

Yoko sighed, recalling the day when Yuya turned five years old and he was gifted the pendulum from Yusho. He never took it off, always keeping it as if it was a lucky charm that would keep his heart in the right direction no matter the cost. She wished that it had a magic spell to protect her son from harm, but that was just wishful thinking.

And then, her mind went back to Yuri. The poor boy had never been given affection. She didn’t know that her homemade omelet rice would’ve been much more impactful. It was probably because Yuri never had a mother figure in his life; all he had was the Professor and a dragon to keep him company. Zarc’s words to keep giving Yuri love even when he didn’t want it wavered in her mind...but there had to be something she could give him since she didn’t know when she would see him again.

Then, something else caught Yoko’s eyes. It glittered and shone like stars dancing in the moonlight and hung on a pretty silver chain like strands of spider silk. 

This would be  _ perfect _ . Looking throughout the shop window more, she found several other things that she could buy. The wheels in her mind spun like the wheels on her motorcycle.

Yes, this would be just the thing she needed!

“Excuse me,” said Yoko, turning to the jeweler finishing up a display of pretty earrings. “I’d like to make a few purchases right now.”

“Certainly,” The jeweler said. “What has caught your eye today, madam?”

Yoko looked down at the earrings, rings, bracelets and necklaces. Each of them called out to her all set in silver and gold. She just couldn’t choose!

But as she looked at the prices, something...felt off.

With Yusho gone, funds from the You Show Duel School have essentially vanished. And whatever money he saved up was used for bills and to pay for Yuya’s tuition for the past three years.

Despite this, Yoko has never had any financial problems. Whether it be for food, or clothes or medicine for the animals, there was always enough for a rainy day. Hell, most of her horror collection came from deals but the money she paid to buy them accumulated very quickly. And now that she had two extra mouths to feed, along with practically a new wardrobe for them both, her bank account should be suffering. 

So...where was all this money coming from?

…

…

…

...Reiji!

Perhaps Reiji felt sorry about how he made Yusho enter on this cockamaney and was giving money into Yusho’s bank account? With all the money he had, a few thousand yen wouldn’t be missed. It’d be easy for Reiji to funnel this money and state this as “other purchases” in the company financial reports or whatever it would’ve been placed under.

She gave a sigh, she wasn’t going to protest, or look a gift horse in the mouth at this point. This didn’t make up for him asking Yusho to go on a fool’s errand, or the fact that neither he nor her husband told her and Yuya about what the two ‘planned’...and she says “planned” in the loosest sense of the word because both Reiji and Yusho were, in fact,  _ idiots _ . 

Brushing that thought out of her mind, Yoko immediately picked out which items she wanted. The jeweler did question who these purchases were for, but Yoko simply answered that they were for “some of the most important people in my life” and left it at that. And as she waited for the jeweler to box up everything nice and pretty, she looked at the time on her phone and smiled.

Looks like she has a few gifts for her sons after all. 

*************

Yuri was ready. He knew what to say, how to act, and how to attack any weak points Reiji might show off.

Oh and he had Yuya on his lap, his venom running through the red and green haired boy’s veins, and Yuya was deliciously squirming there. Was he going over the top? Maybe, but he’d been separated from his family and brothers for 14 long years all devoid from any love and affection, so Yuri thinks he is owed all the fun and love he can get out of his brothers. Especially since he’ll be back to Academia soon enough.

Yuya whined in his ear and began to nuzzle his older brother’s neck. He was not ordered to do anything at all, his urges and desires simply guided him at the moment, and Yuri was enjoying the effect it had on Yuya oh so very much. 

_ You jerk!  _ Yugo screamed face red, he couldn’t run away from this one.

Yuri smirked at Yugo and licked his fangs.  _ “Oh what’s the matter, Yugo dear? I’m just showing Yuya my gratitude for bringing me back. After all, he did such hard work, don’t you agree? Doesn’t he deserve to drown in pleasure as a nice reward?  _

_ Not like this and not right  _ now _ !  _ Yuto growled.  _ Yuya, say something! _

_ “So good~ feel so good, Yuri, want more, more more more~ please?”  _ Yuya begged wanton and filled with lust as he nuzzled to Yuri.  _ “Please more, command me, touch me, anything please~”  _

_ NOT THAT!  _ Yuto groaned. 

_ Oh...what about our brothers watching us, ruby?  _ Yuri purred.  _ Don’t you want  _ them _ , too? I know you do. I know you want our shadow and summer breeze in here too… _

_ “Yes yes yes yes want brothers, want them, I wanna be touched and kissed and loved by all my brothers,”  _ Yuya moaned, arching his back at the thought and the images filling his head.  _ “Brothers always feel so good~.”  _

_ YURI!!!!!  _ Yugo and Yuto growled, baring their fangs.

The door swung open and Reiji walked in, Reira swiftly behind him. Yuri’s attention went to the newcomers, so did Yuya...for all of three seconds before burying his head in Yuri’s shoulder nuzzling him and running his hand over his arm and back. 

“Reiji Akaba,” Yuri began, observing how...normal Reiji looked. He was expecting suits, ties, a golden watch. Not a long-sleeved shirt, a scarf, and  _ slippers _ . “So, you’re the professor's son...who apparently likes to stay up binging on movies or something.” 

_ Yuri, don’t antagonize him!  _ Yuto growled.

Reiji’s attention went to Yuya, whose face looked pretty flushed even from that angle, and how he was being...quite friendly with the Academia...high up? Reiji wasn’t really sure what Yuri’s rank is, to be honest. All he knew was that Yuri worked for his father, that he kidnapped two people close to Yuto, Shun and Yugo, and that he looked similar to  _ three _ individuals.

“I must say, I  _ was  _ a little surprised when you agreed to be quite cooperative with us,” Reiji said unnerved at the way Yuya was acting. 

“Well, I did have my own conditions~” Yuri chuckled, running two fingers down Yuya’s cheek making the red-eyed boy let out a choked moan and shiver. Reiji, in return, narrowed his eyes. 

“Yes, but the conditions of having your three counterparts here seems rather easy to do and superfluous for someone so important from Academia.” 

“Oh I had my reasons,” Yuri said, running his claws lightly in Yuya’s hair, making the younger boy whine and nuzzle more to Yuri and causing Yuto and Yugo to look like they wanted to smash the glass separating them. Shun just stood to the side face red,  _ not  _ wanting to comment on anything he was seeing. Yugo and Yuto were trying  _ very  _ very hard to contain the lust that they were getting from Yuya and Yuri, and they honestly had no idea how Yuri can keep a straight face while Yuya, cute and adorable and so very lustful and pretty and wanton all while was squirming on Yuri’s lap, begging for more. It was hell just looking at their baby brother like that; they weren’t sure how Yuri was fairing this well. 

_ “More please, please, please~! Want more touches~”  _ Yuya begged, giving Yuri a pleading look with his eyes, quivering his bottom lip which Yuri resisted the urge to kiss and bite.

“What happened to your face?” Reiji asked seeing the bruises that were left there, it seemed like someone had beat Yuri up. 

“Oh, Shun Kurosaki and I had a small meeting, and he took his frustrations out on me that’s all,” Yuri answered nonchalantly. “But that’s not important. Ask me anything you want.” 

Reiji raised an eyebrow at the careless reply; Yuri didn’t even sound angry at Shun at all. After all, Shun had every right to be pissed off since Yuri kidnapped his sister. Shouldn’t Yuri be so ticked off about being punched like that?

Whatever the case, that would have to wait till later. 

“Why exactly are Academia personnel turning people into cards anyhow?” Reiji questioned, recalling Shun’s personal rampage on LDS faculty and Serena’s beatdown on Hokuto.

“Professor’s orders,” Yuri answered. “Oh, which reminds me, I have to give you these...” 

Yuri pulled out the carded forms of Halil and Olga from the pocket of his coat. Reira flinched upon seeing the horrified looks of the Scandinavian and Arabic exchange students. “Please tell me that their parents weren’t watching the livestream or something.”

Reiji took the cards, looking at them with an unreadable face. “Most of the feeds were cut off. No one saw you aside from those who were in the Iceberg section.” 

He then flicked a glance at Reira to leave the room. Immediately. Reira just nodded his head and shuffled his feet towards the door, closing it as softly as she could.

“I see,” Yuri,mumbled, running a hand lightly over Yuya’s back making the boy gasp and arch his back wanting more. 

Reiji adjusted his glasses, still with the stone-like expression on his face. “If you don’t mind me asking...why is Yuya reacting to you in such an...unsightly manner?”

“You can say it’s a...counterpart thing… we just have this...urge you might call it, to be close.” 

“And are Yuto and Yugo the same way? They do seem in a better condition and control than Yuya seems to be, aside from that I have seen the two of them, and they never acted like the two of you do now.” 

“Oh?” Yuri asked, tilting his head. “You’re saying you never saw them be close? A touch there, a look there, tenderness or chemistry that seems far too practiced for people who have only met a few hours or days prior?” 

_ Yuri, what are you doing?!  _ Yuto growled.  _ Are you  _ trying  _ to give us away? _

_ Now calm down dear Yuto. Reiji Akaba can call bullshit all he wants, but he can never really reach the  _ true  _ conclusion of what’s going on.  _

Yuya began to kiss Yuri’s neck and lick the pulse point making Yuri shiver in delight.  _ Oh what a good boy Yuya, that’s the spot,  _ Yuri sighed in delight. Yuya giggled; he was making his older brother so happy!

Reiji placed a hand over his face, wanting to get the information out of Yuri while simultaneously making sure Yuya didn’t collapse from...whatever he was afflicted with. “Perhaps we should remove Yuya from you in order to make this a...better environment for us to talk.”

“Uh uh uh, Reiji, I’ll only be this cooperative if Yuya gets to stay right here. And he  _ wants  _ to stay here. Don’t you Yuya~” Yuri cooed, kissing Yuri’s ear.

All Yuya could do was whimper and nod.  _ Wanna stay with precious lily...wanna feel good by Lily’s side~! _

_ Yuri. please for the love of all that is good and Dark in this world STOP!!!!!!  _ There were knocks on the glass; these knocks were Yugo slamming his head  _ against  _ said glass. 

Reiji observed Yugo’s odd behavior. “Is  _ that _ a counterpart thing too?”

“No that’s a Yugo thing, I think he’s trying not to strangle me,” Yuri answered nonchalantly.

“HE’S! NOT! WRONG!” Yugo roared, loud enough to nearly shatter the glass. Strange wind actually stormed the room, most of it directed at Yuri himself who only looked more amused.

“I love you too,  _ Yu~go _ ,” Yuri teased, blowing Yugo a kiss and adding a wink for emphasis.

“FOR THE LOVE OF DUEL MONSTERS, MY NAME IS NOT FUSION!” Yugo snarled. 

Reiji sighed in annoyance. He’s not gonna get anything out of this carried on. Now he knows why Yuri asked for his three counterparts; it’s to both distract him and drive him insane. His best option is to ignore all the teasing that has been going on. 

“Come now Yugo, are you jealous?” Yuri asked with a tilt of his head. “Is that it? Did I do a bad job and yesterday wasn’t enough~?” 

_ “Ohh want big brothers to come inside and play with us~”  _ Yuya squealed.

“AGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!”

And as Yugo was snarling and Yuto and Shun pulled him away from the glass, Yuri was laughing on the inside, making Yugo scream even  _ louder _ .

“Ignoring these ‘distractions’,” Reiji muttered. “Yuri, what exactly does my father want to  _ do _ with these cards? And why did he task you with kidnapping Yuzu Hiragi and her counterparts? The ones named Rin and Ruri Kurosaki? And what about Serena’s role in all of this?”

Yuri sighed. “Yeah...that’s one complicated to answer,” he said, shifting about to be more comfortable, making Yuya squeal a bit, before Yuri secured him in his arms. “Alright, so as you may or may not know, children in the Fusion dimension after a certain age are sent to Academia to be trained as soldiers. I’m sure you’re quite aware of what happened to Heartland.”

Reiji nodded, some of that was new information, but he didn’t comment on that and he let Yuri continue. “See the professor had all of us from a young age  _ brainwashed  _ into believing in his plan which he called ‘Arc-V’’ a plan to “reunite” all the dimensions into one to create a unified utopia. For doing so, he created a machine that can fuse the dimensions, fueled by what he calls the natural life energy that he can harness through the souls trapped in these cards.” 

Reiji’s eye twitched. Bad enough he landed in Academia three years ago, bad enough he saw and heard from Serena back then on the ‘invasion’ in the Xyz Dimension, but  _ this _ ...this was going  _ too far _ .

This made him recall the file he found on his father’s computer — one that involved images of a younger Yuri and Serena. Why exactly were  _ they _ on the monitor? Why those two specifically?

“Still why kidnap the girls, and why did my Father specifically chose  _ you _ to kidnap them?” Reiji inquired. There had to be something special about Yuri that made Professor Akaba raise him to be the older man’s watchdog.

Yuri shrugged. “All I know is he told me that these four maidens were ‘The Key’ to unlocking his utopia. Now to be fair I am pretty high up...but I think he kept the reason of  _ why  _ he wanted these girls to himself, or known only to a chosen few. 

“As for why it was  _ me,  _ well, I am quite literally the best student he has, wouldn’t it be the smart thing to do to send your best choice to collect the most integral part of the plan? At least, that’s the answer as far as I know.” 

_ That did make sense, with as limited information as all of us seem to have.  _ “Although I am quite curious Yuri,” Reiji said and watched as Yuri rubbed his and Yuya’s noses affectionately. “Why are you giving me all this information practically for free? You said it yourself you are pretty high up. Why betray Academia that easily?”

“Because,” Yuri replied, voice grim and hiding the utter rage and contempt he had for that man. “Once I obtain everything the Professor desires, he finds no use for me. Isn’t that the case in times of peace? If there’s no war to fight, there are no need for the weapons used to slaughter and massacre soldiers by the dozens.”

"Are you saying my father will get rid of you? The Academia students are as much a tool as you are, does that mean you think he'll get rid of  _ them  _ too?" It didn't make sense at all. Why kill just Yuri? Is it because he's in a high possession and knows too much? Well it can't be, because as he demonstrated he doesn't know  _ everything _ ...so why would his father want to destroy him? Why would you desire to destroy something so valuable? The three answers to that were either you hate it, it's too dangerous or you fear it. Something about Yuri's belief which was genuine didn't set well with Reiji. 

“I don’t think, I  _ know _ he’ll get rid of me. Why else would he single me out and make me his personal bitch in the first place? That I’ll follow his every word like he’s hanging a bone in front of my face, blindly loyal and obedient to him until I don’t realize that he’s ready to shoot me in the head when I’m no longer of use to him.”

"And again, I ask, what makes  _ you _ so special from other Academia students? Like you said, you are the strongest, it would make sense to use you. So why get rid of something useful? Does he fear you? Hate you? Thinks you're too dangerous? Which one is it?" Reiji pushed the frame of his glasses up, the light stopped reflecting on the glass. "Or is it all three? And if so, whatever did you do to make him feel that way?"

“I beat every single opponent that came to me without mercy,” Yuri explained. “And with someone with a love of seeing their opponents squirm, what’s to say your Father realizes that once I wasn't up to what he’s planning to do with me that I’ll be facing the executioner sooner than I expected?”

"But you used to be in favor of it, weren't you?"

Yuri shook his head. "I didn't care one way or the other," he sent an apology to Yuto and Yugo, begging them for forgiveness for stalking and kidnapping Ruri and Rin. "I simply followed orders and revelled in the fear and pain I was unleashing. Feeling powerful was, well, a way to stop feeling so empty inside. Filling the hole that was in my soul with power and crushing people beneath my feet, but it only made me feel worse in the end… but now it's no longer there,” Yuri said looking lovingly at Yuya before kissing his lips tenderly closing his eyes and looking quite happy. He slowly broke the kiss and Yuya was panting for breath, the pendulum duelist leaning his head on Yuri's shoulder looking dazed before his eyes regained focused one which he had been lacking for the entire session. He looked at Yuri with sad pitying and loving eyes. 

_ Yuri... _ Yuya stated. 

Yuri's eyes were tender and loving as he looked back at Yuya, as if Yuya was something all too precious and loved and to be kept in Yuri’s arms forever.. 

Yuri ran his hand through Yuya's hair, and the red eyes boy snuggled to him with a happy smile. The earlier show of unrestrained lust all but gone. It unsettled Reiji, for not knowing what caused it, and for it ending so quickly. 

“Are you...feeling okay now, Yuya?” Reiji inquired.

Yuya blinked before he turned his head to Reiji as if he'd just noticed the older boy now, and something in the vein of embarrassed horror filled his eyes. "Y...yeah I'm fine, thanks," he said dazed as he rubbed his head before turning to Yuri with a sharp look and a hiss. 

_ “What...did you DO TO ME?!”  _ Yuya snarled, thinking of a proper punishment to give to Yuri with his illusion powers.

Yuri gave him an innocent smile, but it seems Yuya wasn't buying it. 

_ "Yuri I am  _ so  _ getting back at you for this!"  _ Yuya growled and tried to get out of Yuri's hold, but the Fusion duelist wasn't having it. 

_ "Come on...stay with me?"  _ Yuri pleaded.

_ "No,"  _ Yuya replied bluntly.

_ "Stay in my arms, Yuya. Please?"  _ Yuri nuzzled to him in a show of affection which made Yuya finally let out a groan and slump against Yuri, who happily kept nuzzling the boy, Yuya on the other hand had an angry pout on his lips and had his arms crossed 

Yuto patted Yugo's shoulder, who had a sharp grin on his face. "Well Yuri's screwed, he's got Yuya's ire now."

Shun admittedly was quite confused at that statement, considering all he'd had about Prince Yuya from the other duelists, he wasn't anything dangerous. But it's not like he could know as he had just met Yuya yesterday and all that he has known about him was from seeing the boy duel, and him summoning that dragon with Prince Yuto. 

The interaction confused Reiji even more, and looking back at Yugo and Yuto showed them quite gleeful. This was a “Counterpart” thing...wait a second...

“Serena! Yuzu!” said Reiji. “Yuri, do you think that there is a slight chance that these girls may  _ also _ exhibit strange reactions if in close proximity?” 

“Perhaps,” Yuri surmised. “Why do you ask?”

"Just in case the two of them were alone together," Reiji answered, realizing that the two  _ have  _ been together for the past few hours. 

Yuri shrugged. "It's a thing between us as far as I'm aware."

_ "No! It's a  _ you  _ thing! Because  _ you  _ just like to tease and play and just embarass us in every fucking way!"  _ yelled Yugo. 

_ "Well you can't really blame me for that dears, you should see yourselves, faces red, eyes unfocused and filled with lust and lost in pleasure. All of you are simply  _ gorgeous... _ like candied fruit I want to devour~. You can't expect me to resist temptation like that. Right Yuto~" _

And Yuto's eyes finally grew clear with realization. 

_ … Oh. _

Yugo rested his head against the glass and he weakly uttered,  _ "I hate you both so much."  _

**************

The audience’s reaction to the multitude of duelists entering the stadium was...mixed.

Most of the heat was inflicted on Shingo, with the audience believing that he used his daddy’s money to get back into the tournament when it was clear as day that he was no longer welcome. Some were confused why Mieru was with them — since she was defeated by Tsukikage, the ninja saying nothing at all — and more than a few heads turned to see Yuzu and Serena standing side-by-side.

“Why are there two Yuzu onee-chans?” Ayu questioned.

“Does she have a twin sister?” Tatsuya assumed.

“Maybe that’s her  _ doppelganger _ !” Futoshi shivered. “If you see your doppelganger, it means you are about to die soon!”

“DIE?!” Shuzo screamed. “Futoshi, please tell me you’re joking or I will not buy you candy for an entire month!”

Futoshi gulped as Shuzo watched the girl next to Yuzu. If you changed their hairstyle and color and perhaps even their clothes, there would be no mistaking it; this girl would look like an alternate version of his own  _ daughter _ !

Nico Smiley was also at a loss for words; there were supposed to be eight finalists from the Battle Royale. And without any clue from Reiji or Himika — not to mention the feeds cutting out — he had no idea what to say.

Fortunately, he had to say nothing as Shingo took the microphone to give the audience a few words.

“I don’t care what you have to say about me,” he said. “But I’ve obtained my spot in the Lancers fair and square! So take that, unbelievers!”

The jeers stopped as everyone started to question what he meant by “Lancers”...all while Serena looked ready to clock him over the head.

“Is he always like this?” she questioned Yuzu.

“Sometimes,” Yuzu admitted. “Then he’s off accusing people, stealing people’s cards and never admitting his faults.”

“I’d like to put his money where his mouth is...and then shove that money down his throat until he croaks.”

Before anything else could be said, or before Nico Smiley had to improv on what Shingo announced, the monitor then revealed Himika Akaba addressing the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Maiami City,” she said, emerald eyes in a firm stare similar to her son’s. “As of this moment, the Arc League Championship tournament shall be postponed indefinitely.”

The reaction was obvious; people were annoyed, angry and confused at how the tournament had just ended without any continuation.

“I am sorry for those who were waiting to see how it should end,” Himika continued, voice calm. “But it has come to our attention that invaders from another dimension that specialized in Fusion summoning have assaulted various duelists and turned them into cards.”

“Cards?/What the hell?/That’s ridiculous!/What kind of bullshit is the Leo Corporation spewing out now?” 

“I know that you think I am making this up,” Himika stated. “But we have proof of this attack. As seen here.”

The monitor then showed the feed of the three students from the Knight of Duel covered in purple light before they transformed into cards. Said cards were taken into the hands of strange duelists in blue jackets and helmets, the trays of their Duel Disks similar to swords.

“Carded?!” Masumi gasped. “You don’t think — “

“Hokuto ended up as one of them…?” Yaiba finished.

Yuzu took a glance at the two duelists and the empty seat next to them. It  _ is _ strange that Hokuto didn’t appear for his match and how he hasn’t been seen in two days.

(And while she focused on them, she failed to see the look of guilt in Serena’s eyes.).

“But fear not!” Himika stated proudly. “Thanks to our brave duelists in the tournament, they were able to drive away the threat for the time being.”

Then everyone watched as Shun successfully used his Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon to bomb the trio of Obelisk Force soldiers’ Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds, dropping their lifepoints to 0 without breaking a sweat.

“And it was all thanks to me!” Shingo boasted. “My brand new Pendulum cards were what swung victory our way. You’re welcome~!”

No one in the little group of duelists was amused. Neither was anyone in the audience.

“But this was just the first wave,” Himika stated. “As of now, all students of Leo Duel School all across the globe will be undergoing training in order to permanently drive these invaders from our dimension.”

As many students from LDS and the general audience began to whisper this to themselves, Reiji soon appeared on the screen with a smirk on his face. 

“I can see that you’re all on board with this,” he said. “That is why we, the first lancers who shall pierce through the dimensions, will be guided by me! I will not sit by while these knights \ travel alone. As the leader and founder of the Lancers Division, I shall lead the fray into a new era of our dimension’s history!”

Then, footage became replaced with Yuya Sakaki summoning his Pendulum monsters for the first time. “Thanks to Yuya Sakaki, the pioneer of Pendulum Summoning, Leo Corporation has been able to create the cards needed to fight off against the Obelisk Force,” Reiji stated. “And we will soon be offering a course for those who wish to learn this particular dueling style.”

“WHAT?!” Shingo exclaimed. “I’m the master of Pendulum! Not that son of a coward!”

“TAKE THAT BACK!” Mieru shouted, kicking Shingo right in the crotch. “Darling is not a coward!”

“We shall leave in two days time” Reiji finished. “And just like the knights of old, we shall fall into battle and end the fight once and for all! Join me, citizens of Maiami and be the lancers that pierces through the enemy frontlines!”

The audience cheered at the announcement, chanting “Lancers! Lancers! Lancers!” with glee, many of them deciding to join in protecting their dimension from these invaders...

And Yoko, upon seeing the announcement on her phone, clenched her teeth.

Yuya always wanted to shine, but to be used as propaganda for LDS’s schemes of essentially sending duelists to their  _ deaths _ ?! 

Was it bad enough that Reiji took her husband to do what  _ he _ should’ve done and talk to daddy about stopping this war? He already sent duelists to their doom into being carded, hid these mergers and acquisitions with other dueling schools to be built into military camps and even tried framing Yuya for Yuto’s actions in order to have full access to Pendulum summoning.

It was times like this that she was a monster masquerading in human skin. The anger and hatred bubbling in her made her want to ride into Reiji’s office as Shooting Star Yoko and ram that smug bastard’s face in with the front end of her motorcycle. She wanted to tell it to his face that she would not forgive him for this foolish error, and the fact that he tried to cover it up by giving her all that money for the past three years.

So it’s so easy for Reiji to give money away but not to be able to say “I’m sorry I sent Yusho to another dimension?!”

Yoko snarled as she turned her phone off, hands grasping onto bags of all of her purchases for today. She wouldn’t be able to drive home safely if her mind was clouded with all these negative thoughts.

Besides, she’ll be able to vent out her frustrations against those two idiots in the near future.

“Now then,” she sighed, going back to more important matters. “What do I want to cook for dinner tonight?”

***************

“I...I really don’t know if this is okay,” Serena told Yuzu not so sure about meeting these new people so important to her new friend. Even the fact that Yuzu was her new  _ friend  _ was making her light headed to begin with.

“You’ll do fine, Serena,” Yuzu reassured her Fusion counterpart. “Just smile and say hello and I promise that you’ll be accepted with open arms!”

Serena didn’t feel too sure of herself as she and Yuzu approached four people: a man wearing a sports jacket and three kids. After everything that she’s gone through, everything she endured for Professor Akaba’s attention...Yuzu was just going to introduce her to people who would love her no strings attached? That she didn’t need to go this far just for people to like her? 

That...didn’t sound realistic at all; even the man that had gifted her with Blood Moon fusion Dragon was hiding something from her. 

She was already feeling her heart drop to her stomach about what she did to Hokuto; Hokuto had friends and parents who were wondering what had happened to him. How was she going to tell them the truth? “Yeah the reason that he’s not here was because I thought he was a fugitive from the _ Xyz Dimension _ and defeated him then carded him so I can prove to the Professor that was the  _ cause _ of all this dimension trauma that I deserved to card even  _ more _ innocent people?”

Ugh, even saying it to herself felt like she wanted to throw up.

Serena watched as a little girl with red hair and golden eyes approached her with such a sweet an innocent smile on her face. God, she didn’t deserve that look!

“So...Yuzu onee-chan 2,” said Ayu, staring at Serena. “Um...is it okay if I called you that?”

“Um...my name is Serena,” Serena said awkwardly. 

“Serena Onee-chan then!” said Ayu, even more happily now. “I’m Ayu Ayukawa! I play an Aquaactress Deck. What type of deck do you use?”

“I...I use Lunalight…” Serena stammered out, knowing where this was heading. If she revealed where she truly came from…”And...it involves Fusion Summoning…”

The three kids looked amazed at that asking her if they could see her cards or better yet see her duel with them. Shuzo, however, was suspicious.

“Wait a second,” he said. “You use Fusion Summoning...and the invaders were from the  _ Fusion _ dimension. Not to mention that you look just like my daughter…”

Serena flinched. “Yeah, I...I do…”

Shuzo then stepped in between her and the three children. “I don’t know if we can trust her, Yuzu. She’s your Fusion doppelganger; she’s foreshadowing your death!”

“Dad!” Yuzu gasped seeing Serena flinch. “Come on that’s ridiculous! Besides Yuya has two other counterparts and, okay one of them might be from Fusion but Yuya’s not going to die.”

“What did you say?!” asked Tatsuya.

  
  


“Yuya is  _ double doomed _ then!” Futoshi shouted.

  
  


“Yuya has three counterparts, actually,” said Serena, and Yuzu turned to her.

  
  


“Wait  _ what _ ?!” Shuzo shouted.

  
  


“Three counterparts,” Serena clarified. “Yuto from Xyz, Yuri from Fusion and Yugo from Synchro.” 

  
  


“YUYA IS GOING TO DIE!!!!!!” Futoshi screamed and Ayu, Tatsuya and Shuzo also joined in screaming.

  
  


“Uh….” Serena had no clue what to say to that. She looked at Yuzu for help. 

“WILL YOU ALL STOP SHOUTING?!” Yuzu screamed, hitting all four of them with her _ harisen _ causing the children to gulp.  _ “No one  _ is going to die! Am I making myself clear?”

The children quickly nodded their heads, but Shuzo still shot a glance at Serena.

“Good,” said Yuzu with a nod of her head. “Then Serena is coming back home with us, dad. And that’s final.”

“WHAAAAAAAAATTTTTT?!” Shuzo shouted. “Yuzu, did you not hear what she said? She uses Fusion! And our...dimension was just invaded by people  _ who use Fusion Summoning _ !”

“Yes and she fought them, right beside me!” Yuzu exclaimed.

“You have proof, Yuzu?” asked Shuzo. “After all, the feed to the Action Duel got cut off so we’re all in the dark about all of this.”

“MY OWN EYES!” Yuzu shouted. “I told you she fought a bunch of those creeps with me several times and I trust her.”

“Yuzu, I still don’t know if this is a good ide -- 

“Yuzu…” Serena said softly, grasping her arm and bowing her head. “I...I should go back to LDS Tower. I know that I’m not welcome here…”

“Serena, no!” said Yuzu, placing her hands on Serena’s shoulders. “Look I already told you, I’ll be your friend, and friends don’t just abandon each other  _ or make them feel unwelcomed dad _ . You’re staying with me, no questions asked.”

“But Yuzu — “

“SHE’S STAYING WITH US! THAT IS FINAL!!!!” Yuzu roared.

Shuzo gulped. “Y...yes Yuzu.”

“Speaking of which,” said Tatsuya. “Yuya has  _ three  _ counterparts? And one of them is Fusion?!”

“Yeah, Yuri,” Serena said, recalling the sinister look on his face. “Now I get why everyone back at Academia was saying he really was terrifying.” 

Yuzu nodded. 

“Yuya is in danger then!” Tatsuya gasped. “There’s an  _ evil Yuya _ here in this city and we have to stop him!”

“Evil doppelgangers usually like tricking people before killing them!” Futoshi added.

“They’re not doppelgangers — whatever those are— they’re his  _ counterparts _ ,” Serena clarified. “And for some odd reason, Yuzu and I also have counterparts in Synchro and Xyz.”

“Synchro and — Ruri Kurosaki!” Yuzu gasped.

“Kurosaki?” Shuzo repeated. “As in... _ Shun  _ Kurosaki?”

“The same Shun who utterly destroyed Sora in their duel?” Ayu clarified.

“That guy is a total jerk!” Tatsuya growled.

Serena flashed back to the way he was acting with Yuto around when they first met. The way Shun was...making out with Yuto didn’t seem to match with this unrelentless duelist the children painted him as. Then again she has seen him duel, but it was like she was seeing two different people…kinda like the situation she’s had in regards to seeing Yuzu and all. 

“Speaking of which, where  _ is _ Sora?” asked Futoshi. “He hasn’t been seen in days.”

“Sora? Sora Shun’in?” Serena asked. “Wait, you guys don’t know he’s from the Fusion Dimension too?!”

“He’s from WHAT?!” Yuzu gasped. “Wait...he’s a bad guy?!”

Serena clapped her hand over her mouth. So they had no idea about Sora’s true colors then…

“Sora can’t be a bad guy!” Ayu pleaded. “Serena onee-chan, please tell me you’re lying!”

“He’s always been around Yuya’s side, wanting to learn about Pendulum Summoning!” said Tatsuya. “He saved Yuya from being beaten by Shingo’s thugs!”

“He has a ginormous sweet tooth,” Futoshi brought up.

“And he’s the one who taught me Fusion Summoning,” Yuzu concluded. “How...how can he be the  _ enemy _ ?!”

“Yeah...he was actually sent as a spy here...he’s the reason I came here in the first place,” she said. “He was shouting about there being Xyz fugitives here and...I was going to card them in order to prove that I was worthy of invading the Xyz dimension. But I didn’t stay long enough for me to learn  _ who _ were the true fugitives. The true fugitives were Yuto and Shun, but I learned it later after I… I carded the wrong person by mistake!”

Serena dropped to her knees, trying to hide the tears in her eyes, wanting to run away. But a soldier never runs away from a battle. A soldier  _ never runs away _ .

“Carded the wrong...Hokuto…” Yuzu gasped, eyes shrinking. “ _ You  _ carded Hokuto Shijima?!”

“I told you, Yuzu!” Shuzo growled, as the kids stepped back in fear. “Serena is the enemy!”

Serena nodded. “I didn’t know back then what the invasion on Xyz was truly about. I thought...I thought I was doing the right thing. But I was, I was so wrong, deluded into the Professor’s warped dream and...I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.” 

“Masumi and Yaiba have no idea about this, do they?” Yuzu whispered. As much as she hated the three at first for how  _ skilled _ they are at their summoning methods, she warmed up to them quickly. Masumi was now someone who respected Yuzu and she couldn’t get mad at Yaiba for personally teaching Gongenzaka Synchro Summoning. 

Hokuto though? He was still a bit of a prick, through and through. But at least he was less of a prick compared to  _ Shingo _ .

Serena shook her head, “I...I don’t think so, not unless Reiji told them.” 

“Does everyone in this damn city need a  _ harisen  _ to the face?!” Yuzu questioned and got on her knees, putting her hands on Serena’s shoulder. “Ok listen, you did something extremely bad, and you need to make up for it. You’re fighting by our side now and like I said Serena, I trust you. 

“So let’s make a deal. You stay in my house tonight, and you have to face Masumi and Yaiba, tell them exactly what you did, and apologize.” 

Serena sniffled. “Yuzu…” Yuzu just gave her an encouraging smile but that only made Serena feel even worse about herself. “I...I don’t deserve any of...this...you...you should hate me like your dad does. I was going to go out and hurt so many others...just for that Professor to finally notice me!” 

“Well, you’re not now are you?” said Yuzu, pointing to the lack of a red coat Serena wore. Serena was always proud of it; showing off how she wore the banner of Academia with pride. But now it was gone, stomped on as proof that she wasn’t going back to Academia again...at least, not without a fight. “You’re a Lancer now, and you’re going to knock some sense into each and every member of Academia that dueling as a weapon is wrong.” 

Serena shook her head vehemently, still in doubt. Yuzu wasn’t going to give up on her thought. “You proved yourself Serena, we both know where you stand, and you’re willing to fight Academia and the Professor. To me, that’s more than enough.”

Serena looked at Yuzu and then at the eyes of the three kids. There was some hesitance before Ayu approached her.

“If Yuzu onee-chan trusts you, so will I,” said Ayu. “I’m so happy to have another big sister!”

“And you use Fusion, right?” said Tatsuya. “So does Yuzu; I wanna see you to duel each other!”

“Maybe you’re not an evil doppelganger after all,” Futoshi agreed.

“Uh...thank you,” said Serena, smiling at these children not being so afraid of her anymore. “I promise that I’ll stop Academia. And we’ll make the dimensions a much more peaceful place before Academia came and ruined everything.”

“Do your best, Serena nee-chan!” Ayu cheered.

“We’re rooting for you!” said Tatsuya.

“Give those Fusion guys the shivers!” said Futoshi.

Serena giggled. Their energy was so infectious. She wrapped the children into a warm embrace, her heart lighter than it’s ever been in her entire life.

“I will,” Serena whispered. “Thanks for believing in me.”

Yuzu smiled, seeing Serena smiling like this. She wished that Serena always smiled...

And then...this heartwarming moment was interrupted by the sound of loud crying...and it wasn’t from Serena.

“SO HOT BLOODED!!!!” Shuzo shouted. “My daughter helping Tatsuya, Ayu and Futoshi show compassion to the enemy. I’m burning up just from that alone!!!”

“...Is he ...okay?” Serena asked, very worried about the man’s reaction. 

“Yeah he’s fine,” Yuzu said with a put upon sigh before hitting her dad with the  _ harisen _ again. “And for the last time, she’s  _ not  _ the enemy.” 

“But what about Yuya?” asked Ayu. “This lily guy — “

“Yuri,” Serena corrected.

“He’s from Fusion too,” Ayu continued. “Is  _ he _ a bad guy? Is Yuya in trouble too?”

“We’re not sure, but Yuri is dangerous, ” said Serena. “We know Yuto, Yuya’s Xyz counterpart is fine. We saw him when we were hiding in the volcano section, but then he took Shun and left looking a bit distressed. We haven’t seen hide nor hair from Yuri, after that.”

“And what about that last one? Yugo?” asked Tatsuya.

“No idea either, he’s usually with Yuto, or on his white motorcycle. The last thing I saw as Yoko-san drove us away was him blocking Yuri from coming after us.”

“That reminds me,” said Shuzo. “Yoko was seen punching out three of those guys in blue coats back at the Volcano section before the feed got cut off.”

“That woman  _ punched out  _ three highly trained members of Obelisk Force?” Serena gulped. “Oh wow, and I thought I respected her  _ before.  _ Remind me to  _ never _ get on her bad side.” 

“Look, why don’t we get these kids back to their parents and we can discuss this over dinner,” Shuzo suggested, massaging this temples. This was going to be a  _ long _ evening, that’s for sure.

“Sounds like a plan,” said Yuzu smiling with a nod, taking Serena’s hand in hers. ““Let’s go home. What’s for dinner, dad?”

“Hmm…” Shuzo said, rubbing his chin. “Ah, how about my famous flower-topped egg hamburger steak!”

“Dad?  _ Really _ ?” Yuzu sighed. “I mean, it was okay when I was a kid but…”

“No, I think I’d like to try it out,” Serena said, earnestly. “Um...thank you again, Shuzo-san.” 

Shuzo still wasn’t sure about the compliment, but he was warming up to the little girl with his daughter’s face. Yuzu certainly wasn’t letting her go back to LDS all alone, so he might as well go along with it. He gave Serena a smile and led the group of children away so they could reunite with their parents before he extended his hand out to Serena.

“Let’s go home,” he said. “And please, call me  _ otou-san _ .”

And Serena did not hesitate to take that hand as she stood up. She squeezed it gratefully, giving Yuzu a smile. 

“Yeah,” she said, also taking Yuzu’s hand. Yuzu smiled as she stood up and lightly bumped Serena’s shoulder. Serena paused before bumping her shoulder back in return.

“Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoyed this! We're really proud that we reached 100 Kudos. Part three will be posted soon.
> 
> (GPQ: And I have a tvtropes page in dedication to this fanfic! For those who wish to help edit it, here's the link: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/KingdomFromTheAshesRise)


	11. Chapter 7 (Part 3): For Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part three has been finished for a while, to be honest I've been waiting for a comment or two. 
> 
> Green_Phantom_Queen is taking a break from this story to work on her own Fic, so it will be a while before CHAPTER 8 is finished. 
> 
> We hope you enjoy this one.

"Well, that was fun," Yuri said and was met with three angry growls and three crimson faced younger brothers as they left the elevator. Yuri just gave them all an innocent smile as they met with Yoko at the entrance of LDS building. 

"I'll be back after Yuri leaves for Fusion, I promise," Yuto told Shun, giving him one more peck on his lips, Shun nodded before meeting Yuri's smug smile, which he shied away from. 

Yoko raised her eyebrow at the reactions between Shun, Yuri and Yuto — particularly how Yuri somehow had a bruise on his cheek — but said nothing. This was a personal matter between the three and it wasn’t her right to interfere.

With a sigh, she and her sons entered her car and left LDS tower. Yoko was glad that she arrived just in time to buy everything needed for tonight and was excited to see how her sons would react to the surprise.

She was still brimming with joy as she parked the car and unpacked everything, distracting the boys with more episodes of _ The Haunting Hour _ and this time she was letting them watch her personal favorite episodes. She already had everything cooking by the time the twist ending of “The Girl in the Painting” appeared and the poor protagonist who desired the life of the titular girl entered the world of the titular painting and was eaten by…

Well, it was never stated just _ what _ the monster was, but given the fairy tale tropes involved. fans assumed that she was an offering to a very hungry dragon.

Said Girl in the painting looked on in sadness, but her mother was more cynical about their situation. They were stuck with it, and it was either _ them _ offered or some hapless fool who wished to have their life without knowing what was underneath the surface.

The last minute of the episode had the Girl look out her window, where it was bright and sunny and had a wonderful garden...a garden that she could never get to frolic around or pick flowers or even feel sunshine on her face.

“_ Us...or them _,” The titular Girl in the Painting whispered, sorrow in her eyes.

And she sat on her chair as the final scene of the episode zoomed out to see the painting on the wall, ready to entice someone to enter and become its sacrifice.

Overall it was a very interesting tale about wanting to live in luxury without ever actually working for it and the parallels between both girls and their mothers was quite interesting. 

“So…” said Yoko, seeing the credits roll. “What did you think? Do you think Becky deserved to be devoured by a dragon?”

“I think she deserved it,” said Yugo. “I mean, she never did anything to work for that luxury. Now, if there was anyone who deserved to be a princess, it’s Rin.”

“But why do you want Rinrin to be just a princess?” Yoko repeated. “The way you talk about her, I don’t think the words ‘delicate’, ‘pretty’ and ‘needs protection’ is what comes to mind for her.”

Yugo thought about it before nodding his head. “Hmm, you’re right! Rin is strong, powerful, confident, determined, hard-working...she’s not a princess in a castle, she’s a true Queen, she’s my Queen of storms.” 

“And perhaps the future Queen of the Friendship Cup,” Yoko added. “Speaking of which, what else do you know about this ‘Friendship Cup’? Like how does one apply for it?”

“It depends on the council,” Yugo sighed. “They see your duel records and, boom! You’re in.”

“And winner challenges…”

“The reigning champion, Jack Atlas!” Yugo exclaimed. “He’s like the best duelist in all of Neo-Domino! Those who defeat him will become the next King or Queen, Jack Atlas actually used to be one of the Commons, but he rose through the duels and became the reigning King. It’s why everyone in the City has hope to rise too, beat him and become the new champion.”

Yoko nodded her head, but secretly she was suspicious of this all. Jack Atlas was like one of those “rags to riches” stories by Horatio Alger she once skimmed through, but with the idea that there were Academia agents hiding in Synchro...why did it feel like Jack was more like a puppet on a string?

Well she was gonna have to go to Synchro and judge for herself. There was no way in hell that she was going to miss out on something like this.

While Yugo dreamed of having his epic duel against Jack Atlas, his brothers all commented on the ending. Yuya felt somewhat sorry for Becky’s mother — who actually tried to stop her daughter’s behavior but it wasn’t enough — while Yuto expressed how the Girl was also a victim of this circumstance. Yuri was the more cynical one of them all as Becky did put this upon herself.

With that in mind, Yoko ushered her four sons to dinner. And as they looked in awe as to what they would be eating tonight, she grinned as she looked at the gifts behind the television. These boys would be so shocked to know what she bought for them!

Dinner was a very light affair. Yoko cooked beef stew for everyone along with mashed potato croquettes to absorb the soup. Nothing major was mentioned, and the family simply enjoyed each other’s company. Zarc smiled softly; he wished to have dinner with his sons, but watching them together would suffice until he was brought back to life. 

He was much more interested in the purchases that weren’t groceries that Yoko pulled out of the car last, all of them in beautiful paper bags and ribbon. He himself wanted to be surprised as to what this woman would reveal.

“So boys, did you hear the news?” asked Yoko. “Reiji is announcing some sort of soldier program called the ‘Lancers’ and he’s now promoting courses in LDS all revolved around Pendulum Summoning. Congrats Yuya; you’re now a poster boy for war.”

“Haa?” Yuya asked, shocked at Reiji’s decision.

Zarc raised his eyebrow at that, it was nothing to him. For all he cared, his son was the future prince of this dimension. For him, putting Yuya on a pedestal and making him the pioneer for Pendulum summoning is what _ should _be happening. 

“I mean...yeah that’s nice...but what I want to truly do is just make people smile. And besides,” Yuya admitted. “It wasn’t _ me _ who pioneered it. It was Father. I’m being credited for something that wasn’t truly mine to begin with.”

“Hmm?” asked Yuri, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh right, you don’t know this story,” said Yoko. “Well, a few months ago the previous champion of this city, Strong Ishijima, wanted to challenge my son to a duel as a proxy for a match against my husband. Yusho, three years ago, was supposed to duel Ishijima for the championship...but we all know what _ truly _happened.”

Yoko could not erase the feelings of hate and anger in her heart as everyone laughed at her son wanting to challenge Strong. Nor could learning of her husband’s “brilliant” idea to disappear in such an important day of his life. 

Oh yeah, it was an important day...the day when he started emotionally breaking his son’s spirit! Couldn’t he have just waited until _ after _ the duel was over to leave? Like he could’ve intentionally lost, praised Strong for the spectacular duel, had dinner with his family and _ then _ went off to the Xyz Dimension after saying goodbye? 

_ “Uhh...I’m lost,” _Yuri said, before Yuya sighed sadly and shared his memories as that sad eleven year old boy wanting to prove that Yusho was not a coward. Of all the teasing and insults he had to go through because Yusho had disappeared without a word to anyone about leaving. Yuto also brought up memories of Yusho ending up in Heartland, staying there for three years without ever making the connection of Yuto and Yuya sharing similarities with one another, nor how he showed any regret for abandoning his family.. 

Yuri’s eyes widen before rage filled his heart at the humans who dared to laugh and mock his baby brother. He felt anger at Yusho for abandoning Yuya and Yoko without a word, and even _ more _anger at Reiji to let Yusho go without saying anything. He rubbed his forehead, not letting his emotions out, the time for payback would come later. He waited for Yoko to continue. 

“So Yuya went and dueled, showing off his magnificent Odd-Eyes Dragon against Strong’s massive Battleguards. Despite Yuya’s skill in using Action Cards, he was on the verge of defeat...until he somehow ‘set the Pendulum Scale’ with Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician.” 

Again more memories from Yuya on the actual duel, Timegazer and Stargazer Magician rising into the air and casting spells to protect Yuya from utter defeat. Yuri couldn’t help but smile; even now their teachers were there to help Yuya and watch over him. 

“He summoned three monsters — two Performapal monsters and the now transformed Odd-Eyes _ Pendulum _Dragon -- and won the duel,” Yoko continued. “And Yuya was hailed as the creator of a new type of summoning. 

“Now, you’d think that this revelation would bring in a bunch of applicants to You Show Duel School and give it some much needed funds. Well, It did...but everyone assumed that Yuya cheated because he’s the only one to have Pendulum monsters. All those starry-eyed kids left in a huff, not wanting to truly embrace the spirit of Yusho’s dueltaining philosophy but instead just came for the Pendulum monsters...well, all except one.”

“Tatsuya Yamashiro,” said Yuya, seeing the small boy with blue hair smiling and believing Yuya wasn’t a cheat. If it weren’t for him and Gongenzaka, he probably would’ve thrown those Pendulum cards in the trash and gave up there and then.

“What about Strong Ishijima?” asked Yuri. “Wouldn’t he want revenge on Yuya on that?”

“According to Nico Smiley, my ‘manager’ for lack of a better term, Strong decided to travel overseas to hone his skills,” said Yuya. “But ever since I’ve gained Pendulum summoning...it’s like...like…”

“Like what?” asked Yugo.

“Oh right...Shingo Sawatari and Sora,” Yoko snarled. “Those two have no shame about what they’ve done to Yuya.”

“Sora Shiunin?” Yuri repeated. “What does he have to do with Yuya’s Pendulum monsters?”

“Well, it actually has to do with that LDS prick Shingo Sawatari stealing my son’s Pendulum monsters and trying to use them for his own…” Yoko clarified. “...But _ not before _ putting Yuzu, Futoshi, Ayu and Tatsuya to their deaths!”

Yuya nodded his head, recalling how Shingo was defeated through the Block Spider he called ‘pathetic’, and how Sora saved Yuya from Shingo and his goonies through the use of a lollipop stick...and then how Sora stalked him until Yuya caved in and dueled Sora, then Sora calling Yuya his “sempai”....

Yuri’s eye twitched but he stayed silent. How dare Shingo try to hurt Yuya like that by trying to steal their teachers and then even _ using _ them against his little brother! How _ dare _ Sora use his innocent charms only to reveal to Yuya that he was the enemy and showed no care about Ruri’s fate. He couldn’t help but smirk at Shun utterly destroying Sora in their duel though.

And Yuri also agreed with Yugo in wanting to kill Shingo for how Shingo accused Yuya of attacking him — when it was Yuto who did so, at worst he stabbed a spear through his coat! — and not even apologizing for how Yuya almost lost that Duel School. He may not have an attachment to the school, but he could feel the love Yuya had for Yusho and the adoration he had for that school, and how much it meant to Yuya to spread his “dad’”s teachings.

To have someone like Shingo break his little brother’s heart made Yugo and Yuri want to maul that pompous prick and tear out his stupid blond locks one by one and then stuff his mouth with them. 

“Dueling is supposed to make people smile,” Yoko whispered, recalling that fateful day when she first saw Yusho, how his dueling brought so many smiles, and made her fall in love with him. To think that Yusho, who worked hard to push the envelope in regards to Action Dueling, would throw it all away for the Akabas makes her feel that he was either very brave or very reckless. “And now Reiji’s using Yuya’s image, with no consideration or permission from Yuya, into making people treat his, or rather _ Zarc’s, _ creation into a weapon. All those people happily wanting to learn Pendulum for the sake of war, not for fun...that bastard shows no consideration to us at all!”

As Yoko clicked her teeth at the last word, Yuya looked down, not sure how to feel about that; it really wasn’t what he wanted to do, or what he wanted to be associated with. And again, Pendulum belonged to Father first, not him. He wasn’t the one who created it; it just manifested for him thanks to Father. 

Yoko saw Yuya sit back on the chair saying nothing, but looking up at space as if he’s focusing on something there, his hair moving slightly in several directions. She thought Zarc must be talking to him. What he was saying, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

“It’s nothing to worry about, Yoko _ kaa-san _,” said Yuto.

That coming from one of Zarc’s _ sons _about Zarc’s own actions? Yeah, Yoko wasn’t sure how biased the boys are, or how warped their thinking is when it comes to him. She could only hope it was actually nothing bad. Yuya did end up smiling softly, so there might not have been anything to worry about…

An awkward silence filled the dining room, and for once Yoko wanted to hear the animals growl in anger. Wait, Zarc was around and all the four boys were here so why weren’t they growling or hissing or something?

Usually if the animal that detected evil _ stopped _ making sounds...that meant…

Yoko looked down to find En whimper by her leg with large pleading eyes along with the two cats that she hadn’t gotten to name yet. Well, shit. 

Yugo looked down and his eyes softened at the cats meowing by En’s side.. “Aww...kitties!”

The two cats turned to Yugo and looked at him with wide eyes. Yugo just beckoned towards them, making meowing noises. The cats’ eyes turned to slits and their tails were waving around...before they suddenly relaxed, lying on their backs and staring at Yugo upside down.. 

“Uh…” Yoko muttered. They never reacted to her this way. “Um...kitties? Are you…okay?”

“Hi, kitty, kitty, kitties~!” Yugo cooed. “We’re Yuya’s older brothers! We wanna be your friends!”

This caught the attention of the other pets: Core, Kilo and Watt. They stared at the boys with apprehension. They looked just like Yuya and they all had a dark aura similar to him too...could the animals trust them?

“Do they have names?” Yugo asked excitedly. “They’ve been hissing and snarling at us for so long...guess they just needed to get used to us, right kitties?” he said getting up from the table and walking on all four closer to them before extending his hand. 

“I haven’t had a chance to name them,” Yoko sighed, she was a bit weary that their pets apparently got used Zarc and his dark aura around the boys. “Perhaps...you could do that for me?”

Yugo gasped with delight. “Really? Ooh...do you have any preferences?”

“The name theming comes in pairs. ‘En’ and ‘Core’ and ‘Kilo’ and ‘Watt’,” Yoko explained, pointing to the animal whose name she called out. 

“Hmm….” Yugo hummed, rubbing his chin in thought. Three seconds later, his eyes lit up. “Oh, I know! Let’s call one ‘Show’ and the other one ‘Time’!” 

Yoko couldn’t help but smile. “That _ does _sound quite fitting, Yugo,” she said with a nod. 

Yugo giggled in delight before grabbing Time and putting the little kitten in his lap, With a gentle hand, he started stroking the cat and scratching her behind the ears, making her purr. “Rinrin would love you,” he cooed happily, and quickly became surrounded by the other pets who happily barked and purred and nuzzled Yugo. “S-stop! That tickles!”

Yuya, Yuri and Yuto couldn’t help but smile at seeing Yugo be given so much affection by the pets. If anyone deserved to have the animals show affection, it was Yugo. Yugo was the one who had a soft spot for animals after all, second to Yuya. 

Yoko also couldn’t help but smile; she wished that she could spend more nights like this. But at most, she probably had about an hour left to do something meaningful with her family before Yuri had to leave for Academia.

Yoko looked past Yuri and saw the television and the _ Goosebumps _ DVD on the table (which she forgot to put away yesterday) and a smirk formed on her face.

“So... “ said Yoko, turning to Yuri. “Yuri, you mind if you can spare half an hour to see why _ Piano Lessons Can Be Murder _?”

It didn’t take Yuri five seconds to see what Yoko was planning. And after the dishes were washed and the table was cleaned, the five were in the living room watching the titular _ Goosebumps _ episode, where the protagonist, Jerry, was forced to go to piano lessons taught by the very eerie Dr. Shreek. 

It was an...amusing half an hour to say the least. Yugo sat happily on the couch with En in his lap, while the other pets swarmed the room, Watt nuzzled to Yuya’s leg before getting picked up. Yuto had Show and Time purring on his lap, Yuri had the frumpy Core while Yoko scratched behind Kilo’s ears. They watched in horror at Dr. Shreek’s fascination with Jerry’s hand, the old ghost in the attic, and the...unexpected twist ending that caused one of them to clutch their hand in terror.

By the end of the episode, all four boys had similar reactions of disturbed amusement. Yoko smirked; she always did love that twist ending with the ‘robotic’ hands playing piano and Dr. Shreek being a robot to hide the _ true _ villain of the episode. 

“Well that certainly was...a story,” said Yuri, snapping out of it quickly. “That creepy Shreek reminds me too much of that Doktor. Except he has a fetish for turning people into zombies instead of touching children’s hands.”

“If you think that was creepy, ‘Catching Cold’ is even worse,” Yoko chuckled. “Especially with that evil ice cream truck being — “

“NOOOOOOO!!!!” Yuya screamed. “Mom, I just got over that ending!” 

“Either that or I made you watch ‘Afraid of Clowns’~” Yoko teased, poking Yuya in the nose. “Trust me, you’ll never see clowns the same way again.”

“Goosebumps and clowns?!” Yuya gulped. “No thanks, the twist ending would probably be that the protagonist lives in a world where everyone is a clown or something.” 

“Nonsense! Perhaps the clowns are normal folks who want to people smile compared to the idea that they tickle people to death and then devour their prey!” Yoko sighed. “Such horrible things, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I retain my previous statement.”

“Scaredy-cat~” Yuri teased. 

“I just like clowns! They make people happy, and I don’t wanna see them in a twisted environment...” Yuya pouted at Yuri. Yuri giggled before moving closer to Yuya and nuzzling him. 

Yuya put his arms around Yuri hugging him closer before stating, “You’re still gonna be punished later ya know~” Yuya reminded him with a smile, giving the older brother a kiss on the cheek, making shivers of fear run down Yuri’s spine. Zarc was roaring with laughter; to think that the youngest one would frighten his older brother like that! Zarc remembered every time Yuya had punished one of his brothers, trapping them in an unending nightmare that would crush a weak person's very soul. Sweet Yuri, he never learns, and never will, controlling his brothers seemed to be worth every punishment he ever got. 

Yoko raised an eyebrow and looked at Yuto and Yugo. “Should I ask?”

“Don’t,” They replied.

Soon enough, it was time for Yuri to leave. While Yuri was lead to Yuya’s bedroom to get dressed, Yoko turned off the television, approached it and smiled at the presents hiding behind it.. She had just enough time to get everything ready for the big surprise!

And as she set to work, Zarc couldn’t help but take a glance at her. No woman since Ray Akaba has caught his eye like that. She was absolutely _ perfect _ ...he wanted her to be with them when all is said and done, and his sons just _ loved her _! Why shouldn’t she be a part of his new kingdom when he was resurrected? She was just too good!

But there was the problem of how she was so astute about any types of manipulations that could be put on her…

Ah, that was no matter. Zarc just loved a challenge.

Ten minutes later, the boys were back in the living room and Yuri was now wearing his military uniform and had his Duel Disk strapped to his arm once more. It was hard to say goodbye to his brothers. He wasn’t prepared to leave, not really. He never wanted to leave them again, but he needed to go back to Academia to make sure Rin and Ruri stayed safe and not under the control of Leo Akaba. It was the least he can do for his little brothers after taking their treasures away after all. 

The brothers said goodbye, with Yuya and Yuto giving Yuri a kiss on the cheek, while Yugo prepped his face with them, making Yuri smile and giggle. Yugo and Yuto gave him the bracelets for Rin and Ruri — with Yoko briefly praying that Zarc was keeping his promise on protecting those poor girls — that Yuri slipped onto his left arm for safe keeping. Last, Zarc took over Yuya's body again, giving Yuri a warm hug, a kiss on his forehead and stated how proud he was of Yuri, how much of a brave strong boy he was. Yuri couldn't help but blush and try to bury himself in Father's chest. 

“So,” Yuri said, taking a step back as he stared at his family. It was kinda strange to say that he had a family, when yesterday he was screaming that he didn’t have anyone who loved him and threatened to strangle his own Father. There were two sets of memories warring inside his head with no clear winner as of yet, but he hoped the one about his past life won. He gave a sigh; he really wasn’t ready to leave. In fact he _ never _wanted to leave. But he had to. He promised his brothers to get them their treasures back, and it was his job to protect and make sure his little brothers were always happy. “This is good-bye.”

“For now,” said Yuya. “We’ll see you soon.”

“We’re always here for you,” said Yuto.

“Protect Rinrin and Ruri as if they were your treasures too!” said Yugo.

Yuri nodded his head, preparing a card that would take him back to Fusion. But just as he was about to insert it into his Duel Disk, Yoko stopped him by stepping towards him. “Yuri, wait…” 

“What is it now?” Yuri asked, not sure what else he would be asked to do. The more he stayed the more he didn’t want to leave. Father promised to be with him in Academia whenever Yuri needed him, to remind him none of what had happened in the last few days was a dream, as well as the bond that he has with his brothers that they use to talk to one another. 

And Yoko was the mother he never knew he wanted: always kind, forgiving, patient, supporting but simultaneously a fighter who would not take shit lying down in regards to the Akabas. Yuya was absolutely lucky to have been raised by someone like her.

Yoko sighed as she pulled out something from behind her back: a purple gift bag decorated with pink ribbon. “For you. Open it.”

Yuri tilted his head as he took the bag into his hands. He pulled out the item at the bottom: it was a small purple box with pink ribbon. He looked at Yoko confused and a little suspicious. 

“Go on…” Yoko smiled.

Deciding to play along, Yuri opened the box, and his eyes widened when he saw the item; a silver heart locket with a rose in the center, glittering with diamonds.

“A...locket?” he asked, taking the item into his hand by its thin chain, placing it gently in his palm, moving his thumb over the rose gently.

“Yep,” Yoko smiled. “And it has an image just for you. Open it up,” she said patting his hair with a soft smile. 

Yuri looked down at the locket again, and undid the clasp. What he saw made he gasp.

The picture was of Yuri embraced by his brothers on the icy field, smiling with tears in his eyes. He did feel those tears come back to his eyes once more. 

“I got there just in time to take the picture,” Yoko winked, showing off her phone. “Then I printed it and had it placed inside so you always have a reminder of your ‘ruby’, ‘phantom’ and ‘summer breeze’, if I recall.” 

The three little brothers’ cheeks were dusted red, and Yuri felt like he was going to choke from happiness. This was all too much...

“T...thank you, _ kaa-san _ ,” Yuri whispered, unable to take his eyes off of the pretty precious gift he was given. He had never received anything like this in this life-time, and right now his heart was beating too fast. He was too surprised and happy that someone considered giving him something like this. Yoko was just so perfect...now he _ truly _ understood why Father liked her so much.

“It’s so pretty _ kaa-san _,” Yugo said, resting his chin on Yuri’s shoulder before taking the locket, which alarmed Yuri at first before Yugo placed it around Yuri’s neck, giving Yuri one more kiss on his cheek. “Now every time you doubt or believe that all of this was a dream, you can look back at this and remember we’re real, that we’re always with you, our precious Lily.” 

Yoko smiled and nodded, giving Yuri a hug herself and kissing his forehead tenderly. “You’ll always have a home back here, Yuri. I promise. I don’t care what Leo or Reiji or Himika think of you or plan to do to you; I will fight tooth and nail to get adoption papers signed so that they can’t put your filthy hands on you. You are my son and nothing can change that.” 

Yuri would’ve have broken down there and then, had it not been for Yuya and Yuto joining in on hugging Yuri too, nuzzling him happily and reaffirming Yoko and Yugo’s statements. 

“And that’s not all,” said Yoko. “I also bought gifts for your brothers ‘ruby’, ‘phantom’ and ‘summer breeze’ too.” She giggled; she should start using these nicknames from now on. “They’re in the living room. Just a little way for me to show you that I care.”

The three were not used to these nicknames coming out of anyone except Yuri. Another blush dusted their cheeks.

“Well, go on then you three,” Yoko said, pointing to three different sized boxes on the living room table. “Go get your presents.” 

The three obeyed and opened the boxes that corresponded to their hair colors. Upon seeing the items Yoko hand-picked for them, they didn’t know what to say.

Yugo looked in awe at his new silver earrings that looked like angel wings with a blue topaz on top of them, Yuto had bracers encrusted with a lapis lazuli on each one, and Yuya had a brand new choker decorated with rubies and emeralds cut to look like the scale arrows on the Pendulum monsters..

“Mom…” Yuya gasped, taking the choker into his hands. “These must’ve cost a fortune. How did you get the money for all of this?”

“I didn’t, but I think I know a _ certain _ CEO who’s been giving us a hefty donation for the past three years,” Yoko hinted at.

Yuya’s eyes widened. _ Reiji’s been secretly giving his mother money? _ Okay, so maybe the guy was not a _ total _asshole.

“Thank you mom, so much,” Yuya said hugging his mother, before Yuto and Yugo joined him. Yuri reluctantly moved closer before his brothers and Yoko all pulled him in for the hug. Zarc also sent feelings of happiness, wanting to hug all of his sons (and Yoko).

Eventually, they had to release the hug and Yuri sighed. “It’s time for me to leave,” he said. “We’ll see each other soon enough.” He turned to Yoko and bowed to her. “Thank you for everything Yoko _ Kaa-san _.” 

Yoko nodded. “We’ll see you soon, when we’ll all be cheering Yugo on as he participates in the Friendship Cup..”

At this, Yuya blinked before his brothers looked in alarm. “Mom, wait...you’re _ joining us _?!”

“That’s right,” said Yoko, hands on her hips. “I won’t be staying at home while my sons are off to war. Tell Reiji that I’m going to be joining his little ‘suicide squad’ instead of staying at home and binging horror movies all day long. Plus, if there’s any chance I can find Yusho, I’m going to rip him a new one for essentially abandoning us these past three years.”

“B...but your deck!” Yuya stammered. “You don’t have a deck that — “

“Oh? Tell me, what’s this?” asked Yoko, pulling out a deck of cards from underneath a pillow of the couch. “Yugo, I’m gonna need you to go through the basics of Synchro Summoning before you go to bed.”

Yugo was all too happy to do so when he saw that the top card of the deck was a Tuner. “Of course _ Kaa-sa _n! I’ll be happy to do it,” he said cheerly. 

They all turned back to Yuri, about to leave.

“Stay safe Yuri,” said Yugo.

“Be careful,” advised Yuto.

“We love you big brother,” sad Yuya waving at Yuri. 

“Show them that you’re not afraid of what Akaba plans for you,” Yoko finished.

** _I’ll be right there with you when you need me my Lily. _ **Zarc promised.

Yuri nodded his head, buzzing with happy feelings as he slipped a card into his Duel Disk — one that showed a picture of Academia— before he was surrounded by blue light. Then, he transformed into a shower of pixels until there was nothing left of him.

…

…

…

The next hour or so had Yoko being taught everything Yugo knew about Synchro Summoning and how it related to the Dragunity monsters she had to master in two days’ time. Yuya and Yuto looked on at how Yugo was now the teacher and Yoko was a willing student, happy and a bit nervous that Yoko would be joining them on this dangerous crusade. Zarc reassured them that she would be fine, and Yoko relayed her story on punching out three members of Obelisk Force with ease, causing the three boys to look shocked.

_ Yoko kaa-san is the best! _Yugo cheered. 

Yoko and Yugo had a few practice duels as Yoko got used to the idea of ‘equipping’ her destroyed monsters and then performing Synchro Summons with ease. She also couldn’t help but laugh as Yugo helped her write down summoning chants for her Synchro monsters. She couldn’t wait to use these on her next opponent!

It was close to midnight when the four decided it was time to go to bed. Yoko gathered her cards and smiled, but then noticed the frown on Yuto’s face.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

“I...have to go somewhere,” said Yuto. “Or rather… to someone.”

“Shun, right?” asked Yoko. It probably had to do with that bruise on Yuri’s cheek. 

That’s right; Yuri kidnapped Shun’s little sister. Of course Shun would’ve been pissed to see Yuri by Yuto’s side, believing that Yuri got away with his crimes without any punishment whatsoever...

She suddenly froze, this whole thing of her knowing Zarc started with her just saying the boys were her sons, and Zarc retaliating to that statement with nearly razing her house to the ground. She has discovered Zarc is one of the most possessive beings she had ever met, and Shun has punched one of his sons? And he was still ALIVE? She was sure it was only thanks to Yuto that that was true and she was grateful the Dragon King loved his son enough not to have killed his best friend, but she couldn’t help but think Zarc would retaliate with something. 

And even if she knew about this, there was nothing _ she _ could do to save him. Shun dug his own grave by punching Yuri like that. Oh that poor boy….

Yoko placed a hand on Yuto’s shoulder. “Stay safe then, and tell Shun that he’s always welcome to stay here if needs company. You remember my promise though, right?”

Yuto looked away, not wanting to recall Yoko showing the recorded footage of he and Shun making out. “Yeah, yeah I do. Good night _ Kaa-san _. Night Yugo, Yuya,” he said giving each brother a small peck before he walked into the shadows and back at Shun’s room. 

Yoko watched the empty spot in the darkness like a stain in the wall she can’t remove before she looked at Yuya and Yugo. “Shun will be fine...Right?”

Neither of them dared to reply.

***************

"My...my prince?" Shun asked as he watched Yuto pace all over his room in LDS Tower. Today had not been a good day; he had foolishly attacked Prince Yuri and incurred the wrath of his family, Lord Zarc's especially. 

And only for Prince Yuto's sake he was spared execution by the Dark Dragon Lord's hands. 

And now his prince was moving around the room with a worried look on his face, at times tugging his own hair or rubbing his forehead looking weary and exhausted. 

And Shun couldn't help but feel that all of that was because of him. He did feel like a failure to his prince right now. And he wasn't sure how to fix things.

"Shun," Yuto began and Shun's head snapped to him, ready for anything, reprimanding, yelling, punishment. Anything. "Sit down," he said with a tired sigh. 

"...My prince?" But Shun obeyed nonetheless as he sat by Yuto’s side. Where was his punishment? Why was Yuto acting so...solemn?

Yuto growled softly. "I've been informed of something yesterday. Back in Heartland, we had a traitor, someone from Academia.

“And his name...was Dennis Macfield.”

Shun's eyes widened as fear, anger and denial hit him. What...what?!

“Dennis Macfield...was the one who told Academia to green-light the invasion after finding Ruri,” Yuri explained. “And he’s hiding his identity by using Xyz Summoning so no one knows he’s from the Fusion Dimension. Most likely, he left Heartland and hid himself in the Standard Dimension, going under the alias that he was an exchange student from the American branch of LDS. And since LDS covers Xyz Summoning as a class, no one would be able to discover that he was from another dimension.”

Shun clasped his head as each and every word Yuto said felt like he took a nail and hammered it into his heart. _ No, no, no, no. A traitor someone they trusted, seen as a friend, tricked them betrayed them, took away Heartland's beauty, was the cause of starting the war that destroyed everything they held dear… _made him lose his sister...

And then, Shun snapped. 

Shun’s voice was the only thing heard within that room, causing Yuto to step back. If Shun could transform into a dragon, he would’ve started to burn the entire tower down from his rage alone.

Yuto watched in horror as Shun continued his scream, as if he didn’t care who heard or if he could never talk again. He just screamed like a dragon whose treasure had been stolen. And it didn’t stop there. Shin picked up a chair and threw it across the room where it broke in half. 

He snarled and roared and destroyed and destroyed, the room became a mess. Tables, bedsheets, plants, curtains...everything was broken beyond repair. 

Then, when Shun stared at his reflection in the mirror, he began pounding it with his fists, watching the mirror become just as cracked as the eyes of Black Mirror Xyz Dragon, not caring what he looked like, not caring how many years of bad luck he’s brought upon himself. Just wanting to feel his anger coursing through his veins as he kept screaming and panting and just so...so... 

He froze, looking at his broken reflection in the mirror, eyes wide with rage, tears falling down. He panted as blood trickled down his fists from the mirror shards impeded in them now. 

Finally drained of anger, he clutched his head, dropped to his knees as he started weeping. 

“Why…” Shun whimpered. He hadn’t sounded like that since he was a little boy. “Why? WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN?!”

Ruri was kidnapped by Yuri. Heartland destroyed and war ravaged. His friends, comrades, families and innocent people lived in fear and poverty and everyone else was either killed or carded by heartless Fusion bastards. Why did this all happen? What did they ever do to deserve this? _ Why did Dennis have to do something like this?! _

He said he was a huge fan of Yusho Sakaki’s performing style, so shouldn’t he have been the one to think that dueling should be to bring _ smiles _ onto people’s faces?! Instead of having those soldiers smiling over how they had so many people carded in a sick twisted game?

Shun huddled in the corner near the smashed mirror, sobbing in anger and anguish. He looked so pitiful, broken, helpless, nothing like the stoic Raidraptor duelist who stood tall against all who used Fusion. 

Gods, what would Yuto think of him now? He was pathetic. One mistake after the other, one outburst and now he can't even stand on his own feet or stop crying. 

He wanted things back, back to how they used to be. It felt like a lifetime ago, back when they were so happy, when the biggest concern was their school exams or being teased by everyone over Sayaka’s crush on him. 

Sobs racked Shun's body even more. Clutching his hair all he wanted was to go home, back when Heartland was beautiful, the skies were blue and people dueled for fun. 

"Shun," Yuto's voice came, calm and sweet, and soft, and concerned. And Shun whimpered, just a small pathetic sound, a sad little chirp from a dying bird.

"Shun, look at me," Yuto whispered softly. Shun shook his head and curled tighter into himself. He wanted to resist, to keep huddling on himself and stay away from the entire world. But he had failed Yuto enough for a lifetime today alone. He raised his head, eyes meeting Yuto's loving and concerned sad ones. 

“Please leave me be, my prince,” Shun pleaded. He didn’t deserve Yuto’s pity. Not after what he did, how he acted towards Yuto’s brother. He deserved death or at least to have his prince abandon him. That would be better for someone like him. 

"Shhh," Yuto shushed him, softly taking his bleeding hands in his, making Shun wince now that some of the adrenaline was gone. Yuto removing the glass shards, kissed his bleeding knuckles and ran his tongue over the wounds, sealing them shut.

More tears fell down Shun's cheeks, and Yuto cupped his face tenderly kissing his tears away before placing one loving kiss on his forehead. "My...my Prince..."

He didn't deserve this kindness, this tenderness. It made his heart ache, but selfishly he wished for more of it, for any touch from Yuto. To please give him more, please love him, even though he wasn’t worthy of his prince's loving care. 

Yuto extended his hand. "Come," he commanded softly, and Shun took his hand. 

"My prince…" Shun began as Yuto guided him up to his feet and gently into the bed. “Why...why are you showing such kindness to someone like me? I committed a terrible crime against your family. And now I showed such a...vulnerable side to myself. I’m not worthy of protecting you...I’m not worthy of being your treasure! Just tear your mark off of my body and leave me to die! Please...don’t grant me mercy….it hurts...it just hurts!”

"Just lay on the bed Shun," Yuto whispered to him, still soft, and concerned and loving. Shun did, even more tears falling down his face. And before he knew it, Yuto was hovering over him with a loving smile like an angel, kissing his tears away again. 

"I love you," Yuto whispered.

Shun shook his head; that was the last thing he needed to hear from his prince. "Yuto..."

Yuto kissed his lips lovingly and tenderly. "I love you, Shun. And right now, you are vulnerable, tired, unwell. I wish to help you, to love you more, to ease your pain. Tell me," he kissed Shun's cheeks softly, "Tell me, my Love, what can I do to make it better? To make your pain go away?" 

He wasn't worthy of this, he wasn't, he _ wasn't _ . His prince, his Yuto, his best friend, his love was too _ kind _. And Shun couldn't help but be selfish just for tonight and ask something that he wanted for the longest time. 

“Please Yuto,” Shun sobbed. “I just...let us go back to Heartland before all of this started. Where Ruri was with us, where we dueled for fun, when Dennis was just a simple street magician and not...not the one who sold us out for Academia…that the only cards in sight were the ones played on our Duel Disk. That the only expressions on everyone's faces were smiles. That we ran on the streets so happy and carefree..that _ Yusho _ didn’t run away and was teaching us how to make people smile in our duels...Pleasepleaseplease...I don’t want to be here anymore…”

Yuto caressed Shun's cheek with his thumb, with a benevolent smile like a merciful god. With one last tender kiss to his lips, Yuto cupped shun's chin. "Just for tonight, just for tonight be happy, like we used to be, " his eyes shone like the storm, grey and electric and beautiful and Shun couldn't look away if he wanted to. Shun’s body relaxed as he kept looking into those beautiful eyes.

"Get lost in the fog Shun. Keep looking into my eyes my treasure, and fall into a dream, back in Heartland, back when nothing was wrong, back when Ruri was with us again, when we were happy, when we didn't have to fight to survive. For tonight my love, we're home." 

Tears fell down Shun’s face and a smile formed on his lips as he found himself waking up in his bed to a beautiful day in Heartland. He got dressed, went downstairs and Ruri was making breakfast: two slices of toast and one sunny-side egg. His favorite.

Then he and Ruri left to see their friends. And they dueled and laughed and cheered and nothing bad happened. It was the best day ever…

Yuto wiped away the tears in Shun’s eyes before wrapping his arms around him. “Good night, my treasure,” he whispered, and the two fell asleep in each other's arms. 

As Yuto and Shun slept, they were ignorant of the observers watching them. One of them was Zarc whose eyes softened at Shun, fully understanding where he was coming from. He could see many parallels between them

Their homes were destroyed, they were separated from their loved ones, they were betrayed by someone close to them…

Did that mean Shun was forgiven for that attack, though? Absolutely not. However, Zarc was willing to be lenient on the boy. He needed to show his worth in Zarc's eyes when the time was right. Perhaps having Shun defeat Dennis would be a good way to prove his worth... 

But for now, let them rest. It had been a very long day for them all.

That aside, Zarc's attention went back to his two arguing… let’s just call them “subjects”. 

It was like a never ending argument with these two and Zarc wasn't sure if it wasn't just a kink for them at this point. Them arguing before dissolving into hugging and kissing and what comes after that. Why couldn’t they be like the _ other _ couples who talked things out and didn’t argue like every five minutes or so?

_ “This is ridiculous, just let me go to Academia and destroy them myself.” _ The one with short chestnut hair and sapphire eyes grumbled, unfurling beautiful blue-white wings that crackled with lightning. _ “Treating these children like they were soldiers? There was a _ reason _ I turned my step-father’s company into one about gaming.” _

_“Look while I agree with the concept of your idea, even if you _could_ go to Academia, what can you do? Cause doors to slam without a wind blowing? Make spooky noises? Make thunder rumble ominously? Write warnings on a foggy mirror?_ _Oooh…that’s _surely _going to make them stop being total assholes. Oooh~_” A young man with gold hair and black wings replied. 

Zarc chuckled. “You know, Seto...it amazes me how out of the two of you, _ Joey _is the sane one right now.”

And at that remark, those cold blue eyes just narrowed at gleeful amber ones. 

***************

In the Sakaki Household, Yoko watched Yuya and Yugo asleep in the ‘nest’. Yuya rested his head on Yugo’s shoulder, the two smiling and sharing a sweet dream (most likely of them riding their dragons in the night sky). 

A part of Yoko couldn’t help but wonder how much her life has changed in just a few days. From seeing Yuto and Yugo asleep in Yuya’s bedroom to her now becoming the mother of four dragon princes, along with the ever looming threat of their demon like father, and the fact that four girls with identical faces were going to be offered up along with hundreds of souls turned into cards due to a professor’s selfish desire to bring his daughter back...most people would’ve cracked under the pressure.

But not her. Not Yoko Sakaki.

But the worst part of these revelations? Yoko honestly had no idea where this was going to end. Yes, it would most likely lead to Akaba’s downfall (pretty obvious) but what was Zarc going to do when he was resurrected? Subjugate humanity as slaves? Take away their free will? Let monsters roam the Earth?

She knew that her boys would be…’safe’ for lack of a better term, along with their loved ones. But what about the rest of humanity? The ones that were just average people living everyday lives that did not know of Supreme Dragon Kings or Ray Akaba? What would happen to _ them _?

Zarc did show a dislike of humanity, however brief and jokingly, but it was still there. Was Zarc _ really _ the lesser of two evils here? Or was Yoko on the wrong side? Well, no way in hell was Akaba the right side in the first place, but if Zarc desired to eradicate humanity, what could he do? What are the extent of his powers? How strong is his control over her sons? (well it was pretty fucking strong, Yoko) If he asked them to kill, would they obey without question or would they protest and try to beg not to do it? Would Zarc even _ ask _them such a thing? 

And what would happen to her? What would happen if he commanded them to kill her? That, no matter how much she fought, kicked, scream, begged...would her words reach them or would Zarc’s control make her please fall on deaf ears?

No...don’t think about that now. It’s not the time for such things, but Yoko really needed some insurance just in case she became a nuisance to Zarc and he would decide to discard her. 

(He won’t of course, the boys loved her too much and Zarc doesn’t like taking things from his boys. Aside from that he had grown a bit fond of the woman to want her gone, but she doesn’t know that...yet) 

She knew that Zarc wasn’t giving her the whole story, and she knew that she couldn’t go and ask what he was really planning. All she could do was wait and then strike when the opportunity strikes…

If an opportunity ever does come.

Brushing that aside, the next thing on her mind was Reiji bringing only a handful of duelists to fight against his dear old dad. And while with Yuya she was confident about his dueling abilities, Yoko’s eyes locked onto Yugo. Yugo must be itching to duel and he mentioned that he and Rin were preparing themselves for the Friendship Cup at dinner. A tournament where you duel while riding a motorcycle sounded too _ good _ to be true…

From what Yugo explained, the Friendship Cup was a tournament where one climbed the ranks in order to challenge its king, Jack Atlas. And if they win, then they become the new Dueling King or Queen of Synchro. For Yugo and Rin, this was their one-way ticket to leave their lives as Commoners...well, it _ was _ until Akaba snuck his nose into this.

(Speaking of which, Yuri didn’t get to say who from Academia was in Synchro, but that didn’t matter. She’d learn the minute she saw someone play Polymerization)

She wanted to do something for Yugo, give him a chance to duel on his (still unnamed) D-Wheel...but there was no one in Maiami City who was skilled in those types of duels.

...or was there?

Yoko couldn’t hide the smile on her face as she rushed back to her bedroom and picked up her cellphone. After going through her contact list, she finally went to the ‘R’ section and pressed the only name in that list.

Placing the phone to her ear, Yoko laid down until she heard a groggy voice reply, “Hello?”

“Hey you,” Yoko said with a smile. “It’s been a while. How've you three been?" She smiled at the answer. “Well, glad to see that you’re continuing to spread Yusho’s philosophy.

"So, I need you to all do me a favor. Oh, it’s nothing _ that _bad. I just...need you to kidnap me and hold me up for ransom at the old arcade building. Just come around by dawn; I’ll explain more in the morning.”

There was a pause before Yoko chuckled. “So you’re interested? Great! Just be a bit careful though; because your opponent can be a bit...hard-headed.”

***************

Rin and Ruri huddled together deep in the forest, the light of their duel disks being the only source of light at night, they didn’t dare start a fire incase some other members of the Obelisk Force would find them. 

The two girls talked between themselves about their old lives. About how Rin had came from a dimension where the 1% ruled and looked at the common folk (Commoners) like them with disdain as if they were less than the dirt beneath their feet. (At which Ruri said her dimension sounded like a total nightmare). Rin then began to talk about her and Yugo, and the days and nights spent together dreaming of being part of the Tops together, how they supported one another, trusted each other with everything, how Yugo was Rin's everything. Her best friend her family, how she loved him but never really got to to tell him, because it always felt like it never needed to be said out loud, because they both knew how much the other cares. About the Friendship Cup and Rin's dream of her and Yugo winning it becoming Duel King or Queen of Synchro. About the D-Wheel they spent three years building, and Yugo’s magnificent Clear Wing Synchro Dragon that, for some odd reason, had a dislike for Rin for the longest time, as if she was ready to cut its head clean off. It had started being just as protective of her as he did Yugo after a few years of her proving that she wouldn’t leave Yugo’s side no matter what.

Ruri, on her part told Rin, about her life in Heartland. About her older brother Shun and her friends: Yuto, Allen, Kaito and Sayaka. How the six spent their days together in their Duel school, how much they had fun learning about using their dueling to make other people smile. How Shun was so much of a hard ass and ruthless duelist, yet still a loving big brother. How Heartland used to be peaceful and happy, where duels were only to bring smiles to everyone's faces. She giggled when she told her how she and Shun had a crush on the same boy, Yuto. How Shun had a personal talk with Ruri that he would step down and leave Yuto to her because he thought Yuto liked her back and not him, and he would never want to take any opportunity at happiness from his baby sister. 

At the thought of that though, Ruri had to resist crying. She remembered the first date she had with Yuto, where she described how she felt like flying whenever she summoned her monsters, or that time she rested her head on his shoulder. Just spending time like that where nothing was wrong, where they would always be together...she wanted that back. She wanted the Heartland that shone like stars and to always be dueling for fun.

“It’ll be okay,” said Rin, hugging Ruri tight, comforting her. “We’ll get back...I don’t know how, but we will.”

“But it won’t change anything in regards to Heartland…” Ruri sniffled. “It’s still a wasteland, people still get carded every day, and Academia soldiers are on patrol all because we don’t play the same cards as they do? Why? What did we ever do to deserve this?!”

“Some people are just monsters. They might put on a mask and pretend that they’re better than everyone else but deep inside they’re just the worst, all they want is to destroy and hurt” her grip on Ruri’s shoulder tightened. “I wish I could help. I’m so sorry Ruri.” 

“Just having someone to talk to after being stuck in that tower has been helping me out,” Ruri said. “I hope you can go back to your dimension so you and Yugo can win the Friendship cup.“

Rin smiled and gave Ruri a gentle embrace. Minutes later, the two of them fell asleep, making sure to keep their senses sharp in case they were found. 

…

…

…

It was morning when both girls woke up, and decided to start moving. But just as they were about to venture further into the forest, Rin paused. 

“Wait! I hear something,” sge hissed low in warning.

Ruri’s ears perked up at the sound. If there was one good thing that the invasion did, was that it improved her hearing so that she knew when to high-tail it out. She could hear a faint rustle in the bushes, and covered the light emitted from her Duel Disk with a hand. If it was an Obelisk Force soldier, she could probably knock them unconscious by slamming her Duel Disk over her head. And she’s learned to sew various pockets in her outfit to hide cards that could be used for emergencies.

And while Rin didn’t have any backup weapons on her. She found a sturdy branch she could use as a club.

The two waited, waited, waited as a figure emerged...and it was the last person they wanted to see.

“You…” Rin whispered, eyes glowing with hatred and anger. “YOU!!!”

She charged toward Yuri, ready to knock him out for all that he did. Kidnapping her, separating her from Yugo, forcing her to experiments and questions about her bracelet and about ‘her past’. But instead of reacting in surprise, Yuri just raised his left arm and showed two silver bracelets.

Rin froze out of surprise, dropping the tree branch in alarm, but got her bearings soon enough and stood there, glaring at Yuri, before noticing his face. “What are those? And what happened to you? Seems someone got lucky.”

Yuri clicked his teeth as he turned to Ruri. “I’ll be honest, your brother got lucky to unleash a blow like that before I, or rather _ Father _ — “ That part was muttered under his breath. “Decided to clip his wings. Luckily for you, he’s still alive.”

“What do you mean by...brother? Shun?!” Ruri gasped.

“Your brother punched this asshole? Ha!” Rin said with a grin. “I owe him a high five for this.”

“Rin, do you realize who is in front of us? It’s the same guy who kidnapped us!”

“Yes and I wanted to punch his smug face ever since he stalked and unleashed that dragon at me,” Rin said, hitting her hand with her fist while still glaring at Yuri. 

Yuri chuckled. “Yugo and Yuto’s treasures, yeah I can see it,” he muttered with a grin.

Rin and Ruri narrowed their eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ruri inquired.

“It’s a bit of a long story,” Yuri said. “And I don’t have time to explain. I did bring gifts from both of your...boys though.” 

“And we’re just supposed to trust you?” asked Ruri. “Do you know what you’ve done to us? What those Academia assholes have done to us? Constantly dueling us, asking us question after question in regard to our ‘pasts’ and our bracelets. One of them tried _ shock therapy _ on me…” She shivered, remembering how she was strapped to a lie detector that shocked her every time she lied. She didn’t know what hurt more: revealing how her dimension suffered in agony while everyone in Academia had a room for their own, food to eat, sunshine and a garden or how she was suffering through this torture for no apparent reason. 

“You brought us into this mess! We’ve been experimented on tourtured, locked away and isolated, taken away from the people we love, and we’re just supposed to trust everything you say?!” Rin added, ready to spit fire out of her mouth. “Give me a break! Besides, I don’t know a thing about Yuto but I know for a fact that Yugo would have chased you down and beat you up to come and rescue me himself!” 

Yuri actually looked regretful which caught the two of them off their guard...before regaining it again, duel disks at the ready if they couldn’t run away. “What I did was unforgivable, I understand, but I’m not asking for forgiveness, not from the two of you,” he said. “These bracelets in my hands are gifts from Yugo and Yuto. Can’t you feel it?” 

“Gifts from…” Rin snarled. “Oh, you’re trying to gain our sympathies by mentioning their names? How dare you utter it like that as if you _ know them so well _!”

Yuri said nothing, and simply raised the bracelets closer to the two girls. Yuri was not a trickster; he stalked and chased them and then attacked them with Starving Venom. He was sadistic, gleeful, playful, and dangerous, but there were other ways to make them do what he wanted. So why try to trick them and what was up with these bracelets? Rin was honestly ready to throw hers out of the tower but for some reason, no matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t do it. Neither could Ruri. It was if it had a mind of its own.

“Stupid piece of jewelery,” Rin muttered, staring at the pale green gem of her bracelet. “This is all your goddamn fault we’re in this mess.”

She looked at the bracelet on her arm and the ones in Yuri’s hand, there was a faint glow from hers, but she didn’t understand it. Looking again, there was something alluring about them, specifically about the one with the pretty green jewel. It called to her. She extended her shaking hand to it, several forces warred inside her at once and she didn’t understand why. Part of her desired that bracelet, another part feared Yuri, and the last made her want to stop and get away from that damn trinket in Yuri’s hand. 

“Rin!” Ruri yelled in concern, probably having the same thoughts. Rin screamed before launching at Yuri and taking the bracelet with the sole purpose of throwing it away or breaking it. Her hand extended over her head ready to throw the bracelet away but froze, an expression of shock and awe on her face. She lowered the bracelet and looked at it. It felt...it felt like Yugo was right beside her. 

“You feel it, don’t you?” Yuri whispered. “Yugo put a bit of himself in this, as a way of saying that he’s here for you. He wants to protect you, however he can.”

“But...that’s not possible,” Rin whispered, eyes not leaving the bracelet in her hand. “This is too expensive; there’s no way he would be able to afford something like this...”

As she said that, she placed a hand over one of her sapphire earrings. Yugo worked so hard to buy these just for her. Plus, given that it was so close to the Friendship Cup and how she had vanished, there was no way Yugo would drop anything to buy a bracelet for her if she already had one.

“Yugo and Yuto...they looked everywhere for the both of you, they crossed dimensions to find you,” Yuri whispered, offering the other bracelet to Ruri, who was frozen in place, eyes not leaving the silver trinket in Yuri’s hand. But all of this was freaking her out, why was she feeling like that? What was happening to her?! 

“Lie…” Ruri whispered. “Why would you tell us these lies? Why do you say those names as if you know them so well? When you made us think they were Yugo and Yuto in the first place?! Why give us this hope you...you…”

“I know,” Yuri sighed, a look of remorse in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I...wish I could explain more but...please, you don’t have much time.”

“Before what? I sock you in the face?” Rin retorted.

“You’re going to undergo an operation in a few days time and will be implanted with parasites in your brains. And then you’re going to go after Yuto and Yugo and…well, I don’t know _ what _ you’re going to do, but most likely…”

Yuri ran a finger across his neck.

“So what? We’re stuck between being eaten by a monster and diving down a cliff with sharp rocks at the end?!” Rin asked.

“That...doesn’t sound like an idiom,” Ruri said, laughing a bit despite what they’re going through.

“No, but being stuck between a rock and a hard place just didn’t cut it.”

The bracelet in Rin’s hand shined, the feeling of Yugo beside her getting stronger, making her feel safer, better, calmer. She clutched the bracelet in her hand and pressed it to her heart. “Yugo,” she whispered as a few tears fell down her cheek. 

With shaking hands, Ruri took the bracelet from Yuri and gasped, eyes wide as she felt Yuto beside her as well. “Y-Yuto…” she rasped. 

“I wasn’t lying,” Yuri said. “I promised my brothers that I would keep you safe until you could see each other again. As the eldest of the family, it is my duty to ensure my younger brothers’ happiness.”

Rin blinked and looked up at Yuri. “Brothers? Family? Wait...you and Yugo are _ related _?!”

“Okay, wait hold on. You’re all from different _ dimensions _,” Ruri pointed out.

“And I’ve been with Yugo since we were toddlers. Neither of us had a family, brothers or otherwise.”

“It’s a long story,” Yuri said with a sigh.

“Then start talking,” Ruri commanded.

Yuri shook his head with a smile. “There is someone better to tell that tale,” he answered. “Just put the bracelets on. There’s no harm in that right?”

Rin and Ruri narrowed their eyes suspiciously at him, but the bracelets in their hands felt so good to touch, as if they were in Yugo or Yuto’s arms, safe, protected, loved. Part of the girls were urging them not to do this, that Yuri was untrustworthy, that putting the bracelets on would only bring a disaster. But the bigger part of the girls, ones which dwarfed that voice in the back of their minds wanted to be with Yugo and Yuto again. The bracelets in their hands were the safest they’ve felt in four months; they felt so good. 

Tears of happiness fell down the girl’s cheeks as they both slipped the bracelets on, and that voice was completely gone. The gem on the bracelets shined, auras of cyan and lavender surrounded them, and in seconds, with the feeling of absolute love and safety the girls’ consciousness faded, their eyes glazed over as they entered a trance.

Yuri’s eyes widened as Ray’s bracelets broke and swiftly to dust on the girls’ wrists, and only the gifts from his brother and Father remained. He wasn’t expecting that at all.

But it didn’t matter; with this, Ray Akaba’s presence in these two girls would be no more.

Yuri smiled in delight as he placed a firm hand on Rin and Ruri’s shoulders. He was going to have a fun time getting to know them.

…

…

…

The first thing Rin noticed was that the sun was shining down on her, even though she knew that she woke up just before the sun started to rise.

“Where...are we?” she asked looking around and gasped. This place was beautiful, charming, enchanting, like a garden right out of a fairy tale. In fact, there were fairies in gossamer dresses and butterfly wings giggling and singing and tending to the flowers. “Are...are we in Academia still?”

“No…” Ruri answered, looking at the bracelet on her right arm. “How did...how did Yuto do such a thing?”

“He had a little help.”

Rin and Ruri looked around, startled by that voice. Their heads snapped to the source, and their eyes widened as they gasped. Approaching them from beneath a large tree blooming with cherry blossoms was a man with silver hair and green highlights, with a face so similar to that of Yugo, Yuto and Yuri!

“Hello ladies, it’s truly an honor to finally meet you,” the man said giving them a little bow. “Yuto and Yugo have told me so much about you…”

“Who...who the hell are you?” Ruri gasped. “Why...why is...your face…”

“Oh...is something on my face?” he asked playfully. 

Rin blinked before she walked towards the older Yugo-lookalike, moving closer and putting her hand on the strange man’s chest, who only retaliated by raising an eyebrow, before gently grabbing Rin’s hand and giving it a small kiss.

The Synchro duelist's eyes widened, and she slowly backed away. “This feels real…” she whispered in awe and fear, clutching the hand that was kissed. 

Ruri moved around before plucking a rose from one of the bushes. Rin was right; all of this felt real. But they were just in Academia, facing Yuri a few seconds ago. How...how did they get here? And where _ was _here anyway?

“Wh-where are we? Who are you? And why do you look so much like Yugo?!” Rin asked, her voice getting stronger with every question as she held her ground against this strange man. 

“We are in my garden, and I look so much like Yugo because...well, perhaps it’s because I am his father,” The man replied with a melodious tone in his voice like wind chimes ringing through a gentle breeze. “And the same goes for my other sons: Yuto, Yuri and Yuya.”

“S...sons…” Ruri repeated. “No...how is it that Yuri is the brother of Yuto? That doesn’t make any sense!”

Rin looked up and down at the man, the so-called “Father” of Yugo. Something in her feared him, and every part of her wanted her to get away from him. Survival instincts that both girls respectively honed would normally have given them the desire to run, but the bracelets around their rests made them relaxed, made them feel even more safe despite understanding the danger, it was a paradox that neither girl knew how to deal with or think about. 

“If you really are Yugo’s father then why leave him alone in the City?” Rin growled. “Why leave him an orphan with nothing but Clear Wing with him? Look at you! You seem richer than the richest Tops, and you abandon him like that?! Even separate him from his so called brothers? Why? I don’t understand! Why did Yugo had to live that life if he had people to go back to? It’s not fair!” Tears of rage and sadness fell down Rin’s cheeks. Her life with Yugo, all that they’ve been missing and all that they’ve ever wanted she could never achieve. And her heart broke every time she would see that longing in Yugo’s eyes, the tears that fell, how even in his own sadness he would comfort Rin no matter what. 

“And what about Yuto?!” Ruri added. “Where were you when the Invasion came? Where were _ you _when Academia carded all those people? Where were you when Yuto would cry to himself that he couldn’t do anything more to help his city from falling into more despair?! WHERE WERE YOU?!”

The man sighed. “I would do anything to make sure my sons lived happily. But...Fate had other plans. They separated them, made them forget their true nature, made them suffer for things that they couldn’t control...all because of Professor Akaba.”

“Well then, fix it!” Rin yelled. “Do something!” she sobbed, tears falling down her glistening amber eyes. “Why is this all happening? Why did we have to suffer?!” And she fell on the ground, crying her eyes out. “I’d do anything, anything to get out of Academia, to get back to Yugo. Whoever is responsible for this, who ever they are they _ need to pay _!” She glared at the man as if challenging him to disagree with her. 

“This all feels real...but it’s not, is it?” asked Ruri coming closer and standing by Rin’s side, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

Zarc looked at the two girls highly amused and satisfied at what he saw, he smirked. “Indeed, it isn’t, you’re still caged birds. The only difference is that your prison is now made of glittering gold.” 

Ruri gritted her teeth at him, she was about to yell and demand more answers before the man cut her off.

“And now, I can in fact fix it.” 

“What do you mean?” Rin sat up straighter. This felt too good to be real...

“My precious lily told you about the fate that awaits you: you will have parasites crawling into your brain that brainwash you. Then, when Yuto and Yugo arrive, they will assume that you are safe...and then you will end their lives right there and then.” Zarc hissed, anger rising at the idea of Akaba going so low as to use these girls to kill the ones they love. That bastard had no class nor sympathy on anyone at all!

Rin shook her head, she couldn’t fathom the thought of hurting Yugo, the occasional slap to the back of his head, or punching him to stop him from doing something stupid was the most she could do. But to actually try to kill him? Yugo? Her Yugo? No no not in a million years, no!

Ruri wouldn’t even go that far with Yuto, and the idea of something so disgusting crawling inside her mind controlling her thoughts, messing with her entire mind and forcing her to fight and harm her loved ones?! It made her sick, it made her angry and furious. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair, she didn’t want to lose herself to some heartless monster like the one who ordered the attack on heartland, to lose all her loved ones by her own hands and not even _ care _! 

“That….that….that BASTARD!!!!!!” Ruri screamed.

(And somehow a bunch of birds all around the island started flying away in fear. Yuri tilted his head in confusion)

Zarc’s golden eyes turned to slits for a split second, delighted at their reactions. “What if I told you that I can help? That I can give you the power to protect yourselves, leave this place, get revenge on those who harmed you, and get back to the ones you love?” 

Rin and Ruri’s heads snapped to him. 

“You can’t be serious,” Ruri said. “How can we tell that you’re telling the — “

“I’m in.” 

Zarc’s eyes widened. “Just like that?” he asked bemused.

She nodded. “Just like that.” 

“What?” Ruri asked looking at Rin as if she’s just lost her mind. “Rin, you can’t be serious!”

“I’m in. You said it yourself right? This place isn’t real, yet it _ feels _ real, it feels like we’re actually in this garden. _ He _feels solid and all too real. Something like that requires power, and if he’s offering then I’m taking that offer.”

“Rin, think about this! For like five seconds just think. Even if he _ can _ give us that power, there has to be a price,” Ruri shuddered. All stories she read about those who wanted power or something more _ always _ had some strings attached. “There was no such thing as a free lunch”, she once read in English class. “There’s always a price to pay, and the price is steep.” 

“Then I’ll pay it,” Rin said, gritting her teeth.

“Rin!” 

“If I have the chance to get out of that accursed Academia and get back to Yugo I’d take it, however small, however dangerous, Yugo’s my everything Ruri! I’d sell my soul to the devil himself if it meant getting back to him.” Rin turned to Zarc, light shining behind those ambers eyes. “I’m ready to bargain, whatever you want, if it means all that you said, being safe, getting out, and being with my loved ones for as long as I want, then whatever price you desire I’ll gladly give it.” 

“Whoever you are, I’ll only accept it on one condition…” Ruri swallowed. “I need to know for sure that Yuto is safe. Where is he now? Where’s Shun? Please, at least tell me they’re okay!”

Zarc raised an eyebrow at Ruri’s request. Did she really want to know what type of...position her brother was in?

“I can do better than tell you,” Zarc purred. “I can show you. Look…”

With a wave of his hand, Zarc conjured a mirror with a wrought iron frame shaped like dragons. Black smoke covered the mirror’s surface like ink across a glass of water, until the image cleared itself to reveal Shun and Yuto together in a bed, covered by a white bedsheet..

“Shun….Yuto!”

The two boys were laying in bed together, Shun’s head buried in Yuto’s shoulder as Yuto whispered softly to his ears, and ran his hand gently through Shun’s hair 

_ “It’s okay, it’s okay…” Yuto purred, eyes glowing soft. “Ruri will be back with us soon...she will, I promise. Yuri won’t fail us. He’ll make sure to protect her and Rin…” _

_ Shun sniffled a bit, tears still in his eyes. _

“Shun...Yuto,” Ruri moved closer wanting to touch the glass, and go to them, she had missed them so much. Although seeing Shun in Yuto’s arms was shocking, but it was clear her brother needed comfort. After everything that they’ve lost, she couldn’t fault the two for clinging to the only thing that’s left, each other. 

  
  


_ “My beautiful treasure,” Yuri cooed, kissing the tears that were forming on the corners of Shun’s eyes. “Just be happy… you’re in my arms now.” _

_ He placed his fingers on Shun’s back, showing a strange black mark. With a single press, Shun gasped in pleasure before relaxing once again eyes half open glazing over. _

_ “That’s it, just get lost in these feelings Shun, that’s all you need to feel in my arms.” _

“Treasure?” Rin asked. “Wait...didn’t Yuri call us that?” 

_ “You are mine, Shun Kurosaki...always and forever... “ _ Yuto promised, licking his fangs. _ “I won’t let _ anyone _ take you away from me.” he kissed Shun’s lips tenderly as the older boy moaned softly _

Both girls shivered at the possessive words, and Ruri’s eyes widened more at seeing the mark, along with Yuto’s fangs. 

“Did he... always have those?” Rin asked, and all Ruri could do was to silently shake her head.

_ “Yuto…” Shun breathed. “I’m so sorry…” _

_ “Shhh, that doesn’t matter right now.” _

_ “I was horrible, my prince. I don’t...deserve you, I ran away from you, I should have stayed and faced the consequences.” _

_ Yuto gently grabbed Shun’s chin. “Look into my eyes now, shh, let it all fade away, nothing to worry about, nothing to fear,” _

_ “Yes...my prince…” _

_ Yuto smiled at the response as a black dragon tail wrapped around Shun’s legs lovingly. Shun shivered in delight as Yuto ran his claws through his hair. “I have you here in my arms, and you will never ever leave me. You are mine forever. Mineminemineminemine…” _

Ruri felt her heart pound against her chest.

“Damn…” Rin muttered. “That’s kinda hot.”

Ruri and Zarc gave her the same startled look, the difference is it ended with Zarc chuckling and Ruri to just look with wide eyes at Shun and Yuto. 

“So then questions, what was _ all _ of that?” Rin asked gesturing at the mirror where Yuto kept running his claws through Shun’s hair gently, whispering words of sweetness laced with poison possessiveness and perhaps lust.. 

Zarc chuckled. “You’re gonna have to be more specific.” 

“Oh you know what I mean,” Rin snapped. “The fangs, the mark, the tail, the glowing eyes. That relationship isn’t my business -- that’s between the three of them -- but the other things are! Like the fact that your ‘sons’ aren’t human. What are you? And is Yugo the same way?”

“Rin, you are taking this way too calmly,” Ruri stated, as the image faded and she rested her head against the glass trying to process all that she just saw. She knew that Shun cared for Yuto and vice versa...but that didn’t sound like a healthy relationship at all.

“Think about it,” Zarc questioned. “What creature would have such sharp fangs, a strong tail and powerful eyes? What creature in your darkest fantasies collects treasures and hordes them so no one can take them away from it?

“A dragon…” Ruri whispered.

“You’re dragons?” Rin asked, eyes growing wide. “Huh.” 

“Again, Rin, you’re taking this way too calmly,” Ruri pointed out and Rin shrugged. 

“That does open up way more questions actually,” Rin continued. “Like clearly Yugo wasn’t a dragon while I knew him or at least couldn’t transform into one. But why? Yuto clearly has some strange powers, what with the glowing eyes and all. Can all of them do that? What do Yugo’s wings look like, what are his powers? Can he transform into a full dragon or — ”

She was cut off as she heard Zarc chuckle happily, and patted her head affectionately, she blinked at the gesture. “Oh don’t worry, there’s an easy way for you to get all these answers. So I would like to ask, do we have a deal?” 

“I already said we do. This,” she pointed her thumb at the mirror. “Was just more proof of your power, and between you and me,” she whispered to his ear. “I quite enjoyed the show.” 

“And what about you, Ruri?” asked Zarc, turning to the Xyz user. “Your brother and...boyfriend are safe and sound, waiting for you. And couldn't you give up everything to be with them again? To restore Heartland to its proper glory? To end Academia’s scheme before the Professor decides to offer you, Rin and two other girls as a sacrifice for his perfect utopia and to resurrect his daughter?”

“S...sacrifice?” Rin gasped.

“Daughter?” Ruri repeated.

“Oooh~ I might have said too much,” Zarc whispered, placing a finger to his lips. “Silly me...But, you will know the full story soon enough.” 

  
  


“So Ruri, once again...will you join us?” he asked extending his hand

  
  


“I...I…” Ruri stammered still running things inside her head. Was she shocked about all of this? Yes. Was she afraid beyond words? Yes. Did she fear for Yuto’s and Shun’s sanity? Oh absolutely. Could she risk denying this opportunity and going back to be captured by Academia to have a parasite in her brain so that she could _ kill Yuto _? 

** _Oh hell fucking no! _ **

She was not going back to the tower, to the isolation, experimentation, psychological profiling and tourture. She looked up at the Dragon King? Shun called Yuto a “prince” so this was a safe bet to have. He had power, he had a reason to help truly her; his son Yuto, and he has demonstrated the power to do what she in a million years would not be able to do. 

But there was one more thing to worry about…. 

“What’s your price?” She asked calmly looking at the Dragon king. 

“I just want you to state that you’ll follow me,” Zarc answered. “If you accept the deal, and put a little faith in what I’m doing, along with working alongside my eldest son, Yuri...then you’ll be able to fly like the monsters you summon into battle. You two will have powers at your fingertips beyond anything you could dream of. Simply accept me as your king, give your loyalty to me and my sons, and you will have everything you desire.” 

“Your offer sounds too good to be true, I hope you know that,” Ruri said.

“And yet it is true. And you _ want it _ to be true.”

“What do you say Ruri? Wanna make a deal with the devil?” asked Rin. 

Ruri looked at her new bracelet, then at Rin, at Zarc, the garden with its flowers and sunshine and the gentle breeze and chirping birds. How long has it been since she wore a beautiful dress and ran around with the sun shining on her face? How long has it been since she was given flowers from Yuto or heard birds chirp in the morning without being locked in a gloomy lonely tower?

And how much longer will she have to wait until she can have that life again? The Dragon King was her _ only _chance, her only choice really. If she wanted her freedom and life back, her loved ones and herself safe again, happy again, there was really only one choice to make. 

The bracelet glowed softly on her wrist, warm and loving, and pretty, it was as if she felt Yuto’s satisfaction at her decision.

“My loyalty to you, and your sons, that’s all you ask?” 

“It is,” Zarc said with a nod.

“Then you have it,” Ruri said confidently, curtseying to the king. “I give my loyalty to you and your sons. I serve and obey you all, and in return, you give me the power to take all that I have lost, be free of Academia and return to the ones I love.”

“That is correct,” Zarc smiled as he placed her hand in his and dark tendril wrapped around their wrists sealing the deal. Ruri gasped, power flooding through her, darkness enveloping and merging with her soul, as information and memories flooded her mind. 

Zarc turned to Rin and extended his hand, which Rin immediately took. “Swear yourself to me and my sons, give me your loyalty, swear to obey us,and you will be free. And in return you will be free, powerful, and will have _ everything _you ever desired.” 

“I swear,” Rin stated with determination. “To you and your sons, I am forever loyal to you. Whatever you ask of me, I shall obey without hesitation.” And with another oath made, Rin gasped as she felt the power flow through her, wash her over, as darkness spread inside her very soul, her eyes glowed cyan as she happily accepted all that the Dragon King offered. 

“And with your oaths now sealed, your loyalty and your souls freely given, forevermore, you belong to me,” Zarc declared. “Relish this moment, girls. For tonight shall be the beginning of the end of Academia and that wretched Professor!” 

As their eyes glowed cyan and lavender, standing there as Zarc’s orders washed over them, they smirked as thoughts of destruction and revenge filled their minds.

“Yes, my lord,” they said in unison, their hands covered their hearts as they kneeled in front of Zarc, completely loyal to Zarc and his sons. Zarc smirked, overjoyed and ecstatic at his handy work and at what he was seeing. Rin and Ruri had _ willingly _ joined him, their sole desire was to escape Akaba and be back in the arms of his own sons, now these two lovely and powerful maidens belonged to him and his children fully, and there was nothing that Ray nor her foolish father could do to stop him.

_ Let’s see you try to counter _ this _ , Ray Akaba... _He chuckled, golden eyes glowing. 

…

…

…

Shocks went in Yuri’s head making him gasp and almost fall to the ground, (As did his three brothers) Father’s satisfaction was clear and overwhelming and it was impossible to resist or not be affected by it. 

He panted as he regained control over his senses, clutching his head. He opened his eyes to see Yugo and Yuto’s treasures looking at him with soft smiles. 

“Prince Yuri?” asked Rin.

“Are you alright, my lord?” Ruri tilted her head. 

He took a deep breath and released it. “Yeah I’m fine, just Father’s emotions. So I take it, you’re his now, aren’t you?” 

Rin and Ruri exchanged knowing looks. And that was all Yuri need to see.

“Good,” he said. “Then you don’t mind if I do this, right?”

“Huh?” asked Rin. “What do you mean by…”

“I caught you!” Yuri shouted at the top of his lungs. Once he grabbed Ruri’s shoulder, the two of them caught on quick, having been informed of Zarc’s plans, the two of them pretended to struggle as the Obelisk Force arrived. 

“Yuri-sama,” one of the members, the one with green Jewel called. “You caught them!” 

Yuri gave a long suffering sigh and an eye roll._ “At this point I don’t know why the professor hadn’t removed you of your ranks as Obelisk Force. They seem far too incompetent.” _The three Obelisk force members approached taking the girls from Yuri who began to struggle harder. 

“Careful of the green haired one, I heard she_ bites _ ,” Yuri chuckles. _ “ _Now return them to their towers. And inform the Professor that I have returned.” 

“Actually Yuri-sama, Rin and Ruri Kourosaki are to be sent to the Doktor’s lab immediately,” said the Obelisk Force soldier with the red gem who pulled Ruri away from Yuri. “The professor ordered the operation be made as soon as they’re captured.”

Yuri’s eyes twitched. “I see, very well then. No more escape attempts for you girls, enjoy your last moments of free will~”

“The hell does that supposed to mean?!” Ruri yelled as she was dragged away, but knowing exactly what Yuri meant.

“LET GO OF ME YOU PIECES OF MOTHER FUCKING SHIT HEADS!!!I” Rin screeched, struggling to bite someone’s hand off like a crocodile, causing many sleeping Academia students to wake up in alarm. “I’M GOING TO RIP YOUR FUCKING HEADS OFF WITH MY BARE HANDS!” 

And as Yuri watched them go with a wave of his hand, he frowned. He shouldn’t be worried, but he couldn’t help but be. If something went wrong, then this would be his fault.

He already did wrong by capturing Rin and Ruri in the first place. And he promised his brothers to protect them.

_ Please protect them, Father _. Yuri prayed as he followed Rin and Ruri to their destination.

**************

The girls were dragged inside the lab and strapped to some operating tables. An old man with white hair and sunken eyes with the most unsettling grin on his face approached with a jar in his hand. Inside the jar Rin, Ruri and Yuri got a glimpse of what’s to be put inside of the girls; brains, and unabashed horror filled the faces of the two girls. Panic truly setting in inside of them, and started whimpering. They closed their eyes tightly. 

_ “My lord Zarc,” _Ruri prayed. 

_ “Please my lord, keep us safe.” _ A tear ran down Rin’s face. 

“_ Please let this work, Father.” _ Yuri begged. _ “Please, I can’t fail my brothers again.” _

“Oh don’t look so scared, little girls~” The Doktor stated with that sickening smile on his face. “Once these are inside, you won’t feel a thing! You will be reborn in service of the professor ”

  
  


Rin spat at him. “Fuck you!” 

  
  


Ruri kept struggling harder and harder, gritting her teeth. “Go to hell all of you!” 

The Doktor cackled. “This isn’t the first time someone said it to me and it won’t be the last! Scream all you want girls; it just makes the process all the more exciting!”

_ “As soon as we’re permitted to by Lord Zarc...” _Rin thought.

_ “You’re going to fucking die, slowly and painfully,” _Ruri continued gritting her teath.

_ “This we swear! _ ** _” _ ** They both thought. 

Unaware of what was going on inside the two girls’ heads, the Doktor pulled two parasites from his jar and let them fall beside Rin and Ruri’s heads. The parasites slowly crawled nearer, and began to climb into Rin and Ruri’s ears, they slithered inside, making the girls scream in terror and disgust as the creatures crawled deeper and deeper inside. To Yuri, they sounded like a pair of banshees foreshadowing someone’s death (which wasn’t wrong in a sense; the Doktor was going to get what was coming to him sooner or later...preferably sooner)

After minutes of Rin and Ruri’s screams filling the air, and their bodies spasming as they resisted the parasites burying themselves into their brains, Yuri watched as both of them stopped moving, stopped screaming. Instead, they both had placid looks on their faces. They didn’t blink, instead they stared at the ceiling. To the untrained eye, it looked like they were in comas, but Yuri could see their chests rise and fall.

Yuri felt like he wanted to scream, but instead swallowed the noise as he sent signals of worry and fear to his Father. The Doktor, however, had a wide grin on his face as he observed how Rin and Ruri were ready for anything he commanded them to do..

“Success,” he whispered gleefully.


	12. Chapter 8 (Part 1): Myths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're baaaaack 
> 
> Hi guys. Again, thank you for all the comments we loved them so much and appreciate them <3
> 
> Now I'd like to say that we did not plan on this chapter being this long, we legit kept cutting parts of it and posting in in PT 2 just so it wouldn't be too long. We are quite proud of this chapter though, so we hope that you like it. You guys can actually guess which Yu-gi-oh series I like the most from this chapter 
> 
> Now we will hopefully finish part 2 today and start part 3 later on, Green_Phantom_Queen is going on a trip for the Holidays next week so she won't have time or a computer to help me write at all until she comes back. Hope it's a great trip for her. 
> 
> Again, all comments are appreciated and loved we hope you enjoy this chapter
> 
> Warning: Shun and Yuto. Light BDSM.

Serena was silent throughout the entire trip to Yuzu’s home.

It felt so weird to be riding in a van with Shuzo at the wheel, the kids in the middle and Yuzu and Serena in the very back. Serena was in awe at all the bright lights and the buildings. She had a rudimentary knowledge of some of them, but she never thought that she’d actually get to _ see _a city like this in person.

Thankfully, Yuzu was there to help point things out. Serena couldn’t be more grateful for how patient she was. Of course, Barrett was also patient with Serena but that was more out of obligation than any kind of altruism on his part.

The car stopped along the way to drop Ayu, Tatsuya and Fujoshi home. And every time one of the kids left, rushed to the front door and waited patiently for their parents to open it, Serena felt like she would cry once again. She never had a family; she was an orphan shipped off to Academia and the closest thing she had to “parents” were the babysitters Akaba tasked to control her. How many families did Academia separate when they invaded Heartland? How many _ more _will have to suffer this horrible fate for the Professor’s grand scheme? 

And worse, what if the Professor’s plan _ failed _? What if the dimensions weren’t united? What would happen to all those people carded? What would those Academia students do if they realized carding these people were for nothing? What would the Professor do if the plan failed? Would he keep carding more and more people? Would he start carding those students he “trained”? 

All these people carded after going through so much from Fusion, and she just added one more soul to it. She had no idea what being trapped in a card is like, but she couldn't believe it would be anything but stark darkness, loneliness and being lost not knowing where you are or how to get out, trapped for days on end with no way of knowing how long it has been or if they could ever get out or not, carding wasn't killing, it was torture, imprisonment, with nothing to touch to see or hear. A fate worse than death. 

Hokuto Shijima...that name was stuck in her mind now, along with his face looking in fear before she carded him. He wasn’t just someone who used Xyz summoning: he was someone’s son, someone’s friend...he should be hanging out with his friends or at home with his parents, not stuck in a card in Reiji’s hands! Did his parents realize what happened when they learned he never showed up for his duel or returned home?!

“Serena? SERENA!” 

Serena looked up to see the car had stopped moving and the only ones left inside it were here and Yuzu. Going on instinct alone, she readied her Duel Disk.

“W...what’s going on, Yuzu?” she asked, eyes darting everywhere, waiting for someone to emerge from the darkness. “Are we under attack? Is Obelisk Force here? What’s -- “

“We’re home,” Yuzu answered, noticing the tears in Serena’s eyes. “Serena...were you crying?”

Serena touched her cheek only to feel the wet tears that have fallen. "I guess I was. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I… I should never show any weakness… I… " Serena’s shoulders started to shake as she turned away, wanting to cry harder. But years and years of military training told her not to show any sign of emotion to the enemy. To receive mercy from someone was a sign of being weak, unworthy of living.

"Hey," said Yuzu softly. "It's okay," she did not hesitate to hug Serena. “You’re safe now.”

“For now,” Serena repeated. “But once those two know about what I did...they’d hate me.”

“Those two...Masumi and Yaiba?”

“I _ carded _ their friend! They’re going to be angry at me! They’re going to want retribution for what I did! And I would deserve it...”

Yuzu placed her hands onto Serena’s. Serena flinched slightly, but that made Yuzu squeeze her hands in a caring grip. "You need to tell them what you did Serena, that’s true. But you have to show them that you’re not like the rest of Academia. The fact that you regret what you did means you know you did wrong. You’re going to apologize to them and, yes...they might not accept it immediately. But you need to do it, for yourself at least.”

“What if they don’t forgive me?”

Yuzu sighed. “It could take a long time for them to forgive you, but if they find out you _ are _sincere then they’ll come to forgive you. And I'll make sure to stay by your side when this happens. I’ll never abandon you, okay? I promise.

“Yuzu…” Serena whispered. No one...no one had ever done this for her before. She always had to rely on herself, never had a friend to keep her company, never had someone to help her when she fell. “T-.thank you.”

"Hey, what are friends for?" Yuzu gave Serena an encouraging smile and led her inside the house. “Come on. You’re gonna love it!”

Serena said nothing as Yuzu unlocked the door and turned on the lights. Serena’s first thoughts about the house when she entered it was that it was...nice. Not too big, with a kitchen, a dining room, a living room with a large television, sofa and a wooden coffee table, a staircase and several closed doors upstairs.

Serena took her shoes off, and followed Yuzu into her house where she showed her more of the house, her own room, the bathroom, her father’s room (which Serena didn’t need to go in, but if she ever needed Shuzo she should knock and ask for help). It felt odd that she could go to Shuzo for anything, whereas the Professor never even looked her in the eye.

When the tour ended Yuzu led Serena back to her living room. Serena looked at a particular shelf in awe. There were plenty of medals, trophies and certificates decorated there with Shuzo Hiragi’s name on them. But they all paled in comparison to a picture of Shuzo grinning while a younger Yuzu proudly showed off a medal on her neck in the center.

“My dad was a champion duelist and wanted to become a full-on professor at a university,” Yuzu explained. “But...he gave all those dreams up to raise me full time.”

“How did he find you?” asked Serena.

“I was left on his doorstep one day,” Yuzu answered. “Well, just me and this…”

She lifted her right hand to show the silver bracelet with its bright pink jewel. Serena did the same thing with her hand, revealing her bracelet's dark blue gem.

“Same faces...similar bracelets...and there are other girls with our faces and matching bracelets in different dimensions,” Yuzu whispered, recalling Shun mistaking her for Ruri. 

“And we’re all going to be…” Serena paused, recalling what that silver cloaked stranger told her. That she, Yuzu, Rin and Ruri will be sacrificed. 

“Hey,” said Yuzu, patting Serena’s shoulder. “Don’t think about that now. We’ve still got a few days before we head off so why not relax a little?”

“Um...sure,” Serena mumbled, turning away from the photoed picture of Yuzu and Shuzo, feeling somewhat jealous that Yuzu got to live such a normal life with someone who truly loved her.

“I’m going to go buy groceries for tonight’s dinner,” said Shuzo from outside. “I’ll be back in an hour. So, uh, make yourself at home Serena.”

Shuzo then awkwardly closed the door and drove to the supermarket as Yuzu lead Serena to the living room. Yuzu motioned for Serena to sit on the couch and the Academia student looked a little awkward sitting there while Yuzu searched her DVD shelf. 

“So…” said Yuzu, turning to Serena. “Is there anything you’d like to watch?”

“Um…” Serena stammered. She never did any of this before. “Anything you’d...like would be fine.”

“Hmmm...Oh! How about _ Wonder Woman _?”

“Wonder...Woman?” Serena repeated.

Yuzu pulled out the DVD case and nodded. “I think you and her would get along quite well. She trained in order to prepare herself for war, and then decided to jump into the fray upon learning that yes, humans were battling in 'The War to End All Wars'. Then...well, I’ll set it up then make some popcorn. Just stay here until then, okay?”

Serena nodded as Yuzu set the television up and let the movie play. She rested her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them, eyes glued to the screen. Yuzu had to admit that Serena looked kinda cute that way.

Yuzu plugged in the popcorn maker and poured a cup of popcorn kernels before going to prepare a mixture of olive oil, garlic powder and sea salt to mix the popcorn with. Minutes later, the sounds of the kernels popping could be heard in the kitchen, causing Serena to jump in alarm.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Serena shouted, turning to the kitchen. “Are we under attack?!”

“No, it’s just the popcorn machine,” said Yuzu, putting a large pot under the popcorn maker. “You...never had it before?”

Serena looked away in embarrassment. “No…” she answered.

Yuzu smiled as she waited for every last kernel to pop before pouring the olive oil and sea salt mixture on top. Covering the pot with a lid, she gripped the handles and shook the contents furiously until every single kernel was completely coated. She then returned to Serena’s side and placed the popcorn between them.

“Try some,” Yuzu said.

Serena took a popcorn kernel and placed it in her mouth. She crunched on it for a few seconds before she took a handful and began munching, one at a time, eyes glued onto the action of the film.

The two continued to watch the movie, seeing Diana Prince explore London, cooing over a baby, trying on proper attire and a pair of glasses to hide her identity (“Really, specs? And suddenly she’s _ not _the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?” Etta Candy remarked. Honestly Serena and Yuzu had to agree with that statement) to brandishing her sword and shield while passing through a revolving door and then asking Etta to “guard the sword with her life”. How she stood up against the conference of generals and shamed them for not going into the front lines, Diana’s reactions to tasting ice cream for the first time, (“It’s wonderful! You should be proud!”) and Diana acquainting herself with Steve’s partners Sameer, Charlie and Chief. Yuzu patiently answered all of Serena’s questions without fail and found it curious that Serena had already devoured half of the pot of popcorn before they were halfway into the movie.

There were times where Serena shuddered in fear -- like the scene of Ludendorff and Dr. Poison giggling at how they filled an entire chamber filled with gas to kill several German soldiers who wished to sign the armistice to end the war, or the saddening scenes of people going off to war, citizens in Veld trying to survive on whatever they had on hand, unable to venture through “No Man’s Land” -- all while Yuzu looked in sadness. Yuto and Shun’s stories on how their town was destroyed by Academia and Serena realizing what she was about to enter still haunted her.

The girls watched Diana’s charge through No Man’s Land, using her shield and bracers to deflect the bullets heading her way until Steve could lead his companions across No Man’s Land. Serena’s eyes were glued to the action. At Diana successfully freeing Veld from enemy control -- even gasping at the scene of Diana _ throwing an armored truck over her head _\-- before she, Steve, Chief, Charlie and Sameer were photographed.

“That’s...amazing…” Serena whispered.

Yuzu smiled as the movie continued: from Diana and Steve’s waltz through the snow, to the German gala where Diana stole a woman’s gown and slipped her Godslayer sword from behind (“Is that possible in real life?” Serena asked and Yuzu shrugged), to everyone in Veld dying from a gas attack, to the climatic fight between Ludendorff and Diana that ended with Diana victorious...but sadly learning that no, Ludendorff dead did not end the war...and that Ares was alive.

(“Wait, he was back in that council scene!” Serena shouted and Yuzu nodded her head)

Serena felt sick to her stomach upon seeing Ares speak, being the wind that gave Dr. Poison inspiration to create the gas and stating that human nature meant they would be driven to kill each other. It wasn’t _ Ares _ who made them act this way, he just pushed them toward that direction.

And that wasn’t going into the scene where Steven and Diana were talking, but nothing could be heard (“The explosion made it hard for Diana to hear” Yuzu explained) before Steve hijacked the plane with the gas. How the camera zoomed in on Steve as he realized what he had to do as he smiled.

“Wait a sec -- “said Serena, realization dawning on her. “He’s not going to…”

He did not survive. It was clear when the plane exploded, taking him with it.

And then, there was Diana screaming in agony at the explosion, unleashing her god-like powers and laying waste to the German soldiers that caused him to die. To the point that Ares goaded her to kill Dr. Poison, the woman’s prosthetic mask crumbling away, showing her disfigurement and Diana _ so close _ to killing her with a tank above her head. Serena was on Diana’s side; Dr. Poison _ deserved _ it. She was the one who made the gas that killed those innocent people. 

...And then, Diana remembered.

Steve with Diana minutes before, trying to tell her how he wished they had more time, giving her his father’s watch and stating that “He could save today, and she could save the world” but not before he said three simple words:

_ “I love you.” _

Then, Diana tossed the tank aside and focused her rage on defeating Ares, ending it with a climactic blow not through the use of the sword, but by absorbing Ares’ attacks through her bracers.

_ “It’s not about deserve, it’s what you believe.” _ Diana replied to Ares’ remarks on how men “did not deserve you”: _ “And I believe in love.” _

And after Ares was dead, the German soldiers in gas masks removing said masks to reveal relieved teenagers. Back in London, a celebration was held...all while Diana, Sameer, Chief, Charlie and Etta stared at a photo of Steve smiling and the movie returned to Diana back at the beginning, sending an email to Bruce Wayne to thank him for the gift before she headed off, decked out in armor, to continue her mission to protect the world of man. Forever.

“So, what did you think?” asked Yuzu as the credits were rolling.

“I think…” Serena answered, tilting her head to the side for a minute before answering, “That Diana is a fool.”

“What?” Yuzu exclaimed. “What do you mean?”

Serena sighed. “Does she honestly think that love will be what is going to end _ everything _? That’s just naive and stupid.”

“That’s not what she meant by love, Serena,” Yuzu said recalling what Steve said about the “War to End All Wars”. This absolutely described what was going on with Academia invading the other dimensions and dragging other innocent people into this sea of bloodshed.

“What do you mean?” Serena asked, frowning in confusion. 

Yuzu sighed. “Love isn’t going to end everything, that’s true. But love is what’s going to give us the strength to do what we have to. The love of our friends our family, the people closest to us, their trust and support gives us power to do what we have to, that’s what she meant. Take Diana for example, and it’s not the cliché love from Steve that gave her strength. It’s her love for the world _ itself _, her love for peace, for the people she met and made her beliefs even stronger of good people, of innocent people that needed protection, that needed her help, her love for them, their love and care for her, Steve’s belief and trust in her gave her the strength she needs to defeat Ares. Steve offering himself to save ‘today’ showed that he was still capable of doing something to protect people.

“And yes Diana lost a lot of her innocent ideals through this adventure. She thought that Ares is the one who orchestrated the entire war, but he wasn’t. He just nudged humans into giving into fighting each other. Yes, Diana had to beat her brother but the more she learned, she became less naive about the world. Now she knows that there really _ are _ bad people, but she chose to protect the world either way because people also had the potential to do good. It’s not easy, doing the right thing will _ never _be easy. But...I believe in love and the light, and that’s what will keep me going. I don’t know what’s going to happen; I don’t know how we’re going to stop the Fusion Dimension from carding people. But I won’t give up. I’m never going to give up.” 

“I didn’t...think of it that way. But do you really think that’s enough? Could we beat the Professor if we believed in ourselves?” Serena asked.

“We have to try, right? With our friends we will never be alone, we’ll support each other, cover each other’s weaknesses,” Yuzu grabbed Serena’s hands and squeezed them. “We’ll have each other and our friends to help us.”

“But...I only have you,” said Serena looking down. She then realized what she said and added, “I mean, not that you are not enough or anything because how you dueled yesterday but…”

“I won’t be your only friend forever, though. I expect to be your _ best _friend okay?” 

“Ah, yes...I --”

“Relax, I’m joking! But like I said, I won’t be your only friend forever, and if I know Yuya as well as I do, he’ll happily want to be your friend too. And Gongenzaka for sure.”

“I..I...really?”

“Yeah!” Yuzu answered happily, sure with all her heart.

Serena didn’t know what to say. Never had she dreamed of having a friend, or even that...what was that word...a sister, was it? She never dreamed of having that sort of affection. Pride, recognition, acknowledgement, the desire to seem worthy in the Professor’s eyes, bringing glory to Academia…that’s all that mattered. Nothing else but being the best. But what happened if she never got that? What would she have left? 

Oh right, she would have nothing because the Professor never saw her as anything except as _ a sacrifice _ for someone more important to him than she would ever be!

“Yuzu,” Serena began. “There’s...something I have to tell you. About the Professor. His name is Leo -- “

“Girls, it’s time for dinner!” Shuzo shouted from the dining room.

“Yes, dad,” said Yuzu, picking up the empty pot. “Come on, Serena. You can tell me after dinner, okay?”

Serena nodded as she saw Shuzo smiling at the table set for three, sitting in a chair and waiting for Serena to follow. Serena waited before Yuzu came back and also pulled her chair out to sit. Serena then hastily did the same, hands on her lap.. 

It felt weird...at the canteen in Academia, no one wanted to sit with Serena and she was fine with that. Here, no one _ asked _ to sit with her, they just sat down like it was natural, as if she was accepted.

“Dad, what is this?” asked Yuzu, staring at her plate. It was a hamburger steak topped with a flower-shaped fried egg, like how Shuzo would usually cook it, but now the steak and egg rested on a bowl of rice and covered in a dark brown gravy with sliced mushrooms floating around like leaves in a pool of water and sprinkled with lots of pepper.

“Well,” Shuzo explained. “I wanted to do something different with my usual hamburger steak with the flower egg so I asked Yoko to send me one of Michiyo’s recipes and here it is! Shuzo’s san hot-blooded _loco moco_ for three!”

“Hot...blooded?” Serena replied all while Yuzu groaned.

“Go on,” said Shuzo. “Try it out.”

Serena nodded as she took a spoon and poked the egg yolk. She yelped a bit when the yolk spread out on top of the hamburger steak and onto the rice.

“Dad!” Yuzu groaned, cutting through the fried egg to see that, yes, the yolk was partially cooked. “Did you have to make the yolk runny?”

“What?” asked Shuzo. “It blends with the gravy pretty well.” He took a spoonful to his mouth and sighed. “Mmm, this is delicious!”

Serena watched with curious eyes as she scooped up some gravy colored rice and a bit of hamburger with a spoon before taking it into her mouth. She took a few bites, her look of curiosity turning to awe as she swallowed.

“It’s...wonderful!” Serena gasped. “You should be very proud!”

Shuzo, drinking some water at the moment Serena said that, spat it out in surprise while Yuzu dropped her spoon onto the floor in alarm.

“W...was that the right thing to say?” Serena asked, unsure what to make of these flabbergasted reactions.

Both father and daughter looked at Serena before, without warning, the two started laughing. Serena felt blood rise in her cheeks and the tears forming in her eyes once more. She had people in Academia laugh at her before and even though she didn’t show it, it hurt more than not getting the Professor’s approval because there was no one to comfort her or stand up for her.

“Serena!” said Yuzu, suddenly realizing what was going through the girl’s mind. “Serena, we’re not teasing you. We just find it...kinda cute that you would react to dad’s cooking in such a way.”

“Oh...I see,” Serena said a little relieved that they didn’t think less of her at all.

Yuzu giggled again as Shuzo started to cry himself.

“Shuzo-san!” Serena gasped. “Are you okay?”

“This is so beautiful!” Shuzo bawled, blowing his nose into a tissue. “Serena, I promise you that I’ll make you the best breakfast you ever tasted! And I never break my promises.”

Serena looked at Shuzo before laughing herself. “Thank you. I can’t wait.”

Yuzu smiled as she watched Serena eat through her dinner. The way Serena happily devoured every bit of rice or hamburger steak made Yuzu think of Yuya and how he would eat his homemade lunches from Yoko. She honestly couldn’t wait to bring Serena to the You Show Duel School so she can learn the art of Action Duels.

“Say...Yuzu…” Serena asked, after finishing a glass of water.

“Yeah?”

Serena smiled. “Can we...watch another movie?”

“It is a little late…” Shuzo pointed out

“Please just one more?” Serena begged, eyes shining and making her resemble a young child wanting a cookie before bed (which made Yuzu wonder if Serena ever had a cookie before).

“Oh…” Yuzu began, wanting to say no but Serena just kept up that look. It reminded her too much of when Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya would ask for ice cream or donuts after lessons were over. But this one was more intense because Serena was experiencing the joy of movies for the first time. After ten seconds, Yuzu just gave up. “Alright, just one.”

“Yay!!!!” Serena cheered, hugging Yuzu tight. “Thank you!”

And it was times like these that Shuzo wished he had his camera on him.

…

…

…

As Shuzo cleaned up the table and washed the dishes, Serena chose a movie from the DVD shelf and handed it to Yuzu. Yuzu’s eyes widened in alarm at what was chosen, but decided to let Serena watch it since it was her choice.

“So...who is this John Wick?” Serena said, looking at the DVD cover.

“He was once an assassin but decided to retire to take care of his wife, Helen,” Yuzu explained. “But when Helen died, John was given a puppy named Daisy to keep him company. Then the son of the crime lord John worked for stole his car and shot poor Daisy. So John decided to return to the criminal underworld to get his revenge.”

“All because his _ dog died _?!” Serena asked incredulously. That sounded like a ridiculous reason to start beating people up.

“Well, Daisy meant so much to John,” Yuzu explained. “You’ll see when the movie starts.”

As Yuzu placed the DVD into the DVD player, Serena tried to wrap her brain on the idea that someone would start murdering other people for the death of a dog...and then she remembered something else.

_ Ray meant so much to the Professor. _ Serena frowned. _ Meant so much to him that he’ll commit genocide to bring her back. _

The next hour and forty minutes was full of action and drama as Serena watched John Wick mourn over the death of poor Daisy before John began his rampage to kill every single person involved in her death. Serena looked in awe at connected the criminal underworld was, and the respect John gave off -- all of them knew who he was. He was no boogeyman, he was the guy you sent off to _ kill _ it.

The action was intense. John made every single attack look easy. Serena looked in awe, from the attack against 12 men in John’s home, the fight at the Red Circle, the Continental...every single scene just kept her eyes glued to the world the film crafted. And John’s explanation for what Daisy represented just rang so true; it represented _ hope _ for this assassin, giving him a reason to live.

“Yuzu…” Serena said as the movie ended with John and his newly adopted black pug on the boardwalk. It was the first time she spoke since the movie started.

“Yeah?” asked Yuzu.

Serena shuddered. “I hope that there’s no actual John Wick in Heartland or else all of Academia is fucked.”

Yuzu laughed at the mental image of a duelist in the style of John Wick going on a rampage because his dog was carded. That would be hilarious, awesome and absolutely _ terrifying _to imagine.

“We should go to bed,” said Yuzu, noticing the time on the clock.

“Okay,” said Serena, standing up. “So, where will I be sleeping?”

Yuzu smiled. “You’re sleeping in my room.”

“In...your room?”

“Yeah! You’ve...never had a sleepover?”

“Sleep...over what?” asked Serena.

“It means you go and sleep over at someone else’s…” Yuzu paused. “You’ve never left Academia, have you?”

Serena shook her head. “I lived on the island Academia was built on my entire life. I wasn’t allowed to move much, except for classes and dueling. This is the first time I’ve ever slept over…”

“Yeah, that’s right. Well, I’ll make sure to give you a great sleepover, and the next and the next!” Yuzu promised determined to give Serena everything she was deprived of. 

Serena’s eyes widened, before she smiled, with tears gathering in her eyes, before throwing herself at Yuzu in another hug. This time, Shuzo had his phone out and he had recorded the entire conversation. Yuzu smiled and hugged Serena back tightly. 

“Alright!” said Yuzu, patting Serena’s shoulder. “Lets go. Oh wait, dad, do you need any help cleaning up?”

“Oh no, don’t worry about it, you two,” said Shuzo. “Go have fun.” 

“Thanks dad, let’s go Serena,” Yuzu said grabbing Serena’s hand to lead her upstairs.

“Wait,” Serena said, making Yuzu stop as she turned to Shuzo. 

“What is it, Serena?” said Shuzo.

Serena looked to the side before she took three steps towards him...and then she ran into his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Serena?” Shuzo asked in alarm, before slowly wrapping his arms around her.

“T...thank you for letting me stay here...dad,” Serena whispered.

Shuzo looked in shock as he patted Serena’s shoulder, his face scrunched up, eyes watering before he began to sob once again and hugged Serena back tightly.

“Of-of course Serena, anytime,” he said covering his arm over his eyes to stop the falling rivers of tears to no avail. It wasn’t long before Yuzu joined the hug, before she took Serena to her bedroom.

When Yuzu opened the door and turned on the lights by clapping her hands twice, Serena looked in awe at what she saw: it looked really nice and personalized what with posters of singers on the wall, a bed with pink pillows and a teddy bear with angel wings, a closet, a desk for homework with a laptop and lots of textbooks...it was so bright and lively compared to the drab blacks and greys of her own room.

“It’s...beautiful,” Serena said.

“Glad you like it,” said Yuzu, entering the walk-in closet and finding the stack of pajamas. “Let’s see...do you like black or pink?”

“I’ll...take black,” Serena answered.

“Sure!” Yuzu said, giving Serena a pair of black pajamas that were decorated with white shiny crescent moons. Yuzu herself had a pair of white pajamas with pink music notes in her hand. “We’re the same size so I think we’ll fit. Just put your clothes by the door and I’ll wash them in the morning.”

Serena nodded her head as she began to remove her clothes and slip into the pajamas. After she had both top and pants on, she looked at her reflection in the mirror attached to the bedroom door. She looked...so different than when she wore her Osiris Red jacket.

“So?” asked Yuzu, appearing from behind Serena. “What do you think?”

“It’s...nice.” said Serena, staring back at Yuzu. “Thank you.”

“Yay!” Yuzu said, clapping her hands. “Now, you know what else people at sleepovers do? They tell spooky stories! But first...we need to make a pillow fort! This is your first sleep over, right? We gotta make it the best it could be! So help me grab the pillows!”

“Pillows? What do we need pillows - WHOA!”

Yuzu dragged Serena to the closet and handed her more pillows and blankets before pushing Serena back to the bed. Serena looked in confusion as Yuzu pushed two chairs to the side and then unfolded a white bed sheet covered with patterns of black branches like hands reaching out to grab someone to the underworld. Yuzu then headed inside the bed before poking her head out. “Come on Serena!”

Serena nodded her head as she followed Yuzu in. Yuzu giggled as she hugged her teddy ear tight and Serena sat herself across from Yuzu.

“What do you think?” asked Yuzu, patting a pillow.

Serena looked around as Yuzu stuck her hand out and brought it back, revealing a lantern covered in butterflies. She turned it on before clapping her hands. The lights on the ceiling turned off, with the light from the butterfly lantern illuminating the two.

“This is...beautiful,” Serena breathed. “I can’t believe -- WHA!!!”

Serena fell to the side when she felt Yuzu smack her in the face with a pillow.

“What?!” Serena yelped. “Yuzu, what are you doing?!”

“PILLOW FIGHT!!!” Yuzu yelled at the top of her lungs before attacking Serena playfully again with her pillow.

“Fight?” Serena said, blocking the attack by crossing her arms over her face. “I thought we were friends, Yuzu!” 

“Oh my god I forgot,” Yuzu said, giggling before presenting the pillow to Serena. “Pillow fights! They’re something Yuya and I do in every sleepover. Go on, try to hit me.” 

Serena took the pillow into her hand and stared at Yuzu. Then she nodded her head, and let out a battle cry.

“FOR THEMYSCIRA!” she shouted as she brought the pillow down…

And lightly tapped Yuzu on the head.

There was a pause as Yuzu felt the tap like a kiss. “That’s it?” she asked , perplexed. “You’re not going dow- OOF!”

Yuzu fell onto her back when she felt the pillow hit her gut and Serena smirked, looking down with that pillow in hand. “Fooled you, didn’t I?”

The two of them giggled and continued to “fight” until both became exhausted, lying on the bed with smiles on their faces as they cuddled a pillow in their arms. 

“So,” said Yuzu. “It’s time to tell spooky stories. You have any scary ones from your time in Academia?”

“I have plenty,” said Serena. She then frowned. “But before I tell you them, Yuzu...I have to tell you something about the Professor.”

“Yeah? What about him?”

“Yuzu…” Serena began. “The name of the Professor...his name is Leo Akaba.”

“Akaba?” Yuzu gasps. “Like _ Reiji _ Akaba?!”

“Yeah, Leo Akaba is the father of Reiji. In fact, I met Reiji three years ago.”

“How? I mean, you’re from a different dimension!”

Serena nodded. “Yeah, I guess he accidentally arrived there. I was fighting off some of my ‘caretakers’ with my Lunalight monsters and he decided to bail me out with his D/D Cerberus. We tried to reach the port to get a boat out, and then the Professor clamped some device on Reiji’s wrist to send him back here.”

“Why hasn’t Reiji decided to go back to Fusion?”

“The professor said that once Reiji returned to this dimension, that device would self-destruct, meaning he couldn’t go back even if he tried. And even if Reiji did, it’s one person against all of Academia.”

“Wait, that device would explode? Wouldn’t that take his whole arm off?” 

“Seeing as Reiji has both hands working, I assume Reiji pulled it off before it did.”

“What kind of father is that guy?” Yuzu exclaimed. “He straps a bomb on his son’s wrist, trains students to think that dueling can be used as a weapon, and telling them to invade a dimension like it’s a good thing? He’s a _ monster _!”” 

“The Professor is much more than that,” Serena stated. “He’s the kind of guy who is going to offer up people of different dimensions in order to bring back his -- “

** _Shhh...No Serena. Don’t tell Yuzu about Ray. Not yet. _ **Serena heard the voice in her head whisper, and blinked a few times. 

“Bring back...?” Yuzu asked.

Serena swallowed. “Bring back...the original world. He said the dimensions was once an entire world and he didn’t want to leave these dimensions well enough alone. He’s decided to bring it back, no matter what the cost.”

Yuzu narrowed her eyes. “But...he annihilated an entire dimension. He committed actual genocide! Did he actually think by bringing the worlds together everything would be just fine? He can’t possibly be that stupid!” 

“He’s ruthless. He doesn’t care what he’s done. He’s Ares...no, he’s _ worse _ than that. Ares was a god who just nudged people into doing something. He didn’t force people to kill each other or make weapons to harm others. But Akaba was a _ human _ who brainwashed people, trained them into soldiers, convinced them that invading other dimensions was what was needed. He discouraged any act of affection and care, I’ve never...even seen two people in a relationship before or show compassion to anyone. Everything was all about winning and success. Failure was never an option. 

“I was so shocked when Shun and Yuto kissed but it was treated as normal here. No one acted like that back in my dimension; everyone essentially acted like emotionless robots. You know there used to be rumors... about a monster back in Academia. ”

“A...monster?”

Serena nodded. “All they talked about was him being used as a weapon once the professor was done breaking him. But that was easier said than done. He was skilled in Fusion Summoning even if the monsters he summoned looked pretty weak to begin with. He beat _ everyone _ at Duel Academy: beginner students in Osiris Red, the more strategic minds that came from Ra Yellow, several members of Obelisk Forces, the professors...rumors said that the only way they caught him was ambushing him after _ days _of non-stop dueling, even then he didn’t lose a single duel.“ 

“Did...he ever duel Yuri?” Yuzu shivered, recalling how close Yuri was to dueling them.

**“**No. They say the Professor was very adamant Yuri never comes into contact with him. No one knew why, though.” 

“What happened to the monster?”

“One day he managed to escape. And ...I saw him.”

Yuzu’s eyes widened. “You _ saw _the monster?”

Serena nodded. “You know the scariest part? He wasn’t a monster, he was _ human _.”

“Human?!” 

Serena nodded, ”I only glanced at him, couldn’t really see him, he had stolen a cloak as he ran. I was running away from my room then, trying to find another way to get to Heartland. I heard gossip from the other students that said the professor tried _ everything _ to break him, any and all kinds of tourture. He looked so thin and frail that I was amazed he could move, let alone run.“

“Did he see you?”

Serena shook her head. “I’m not sure, and Yuzu, I’m telling you this because, it’s only now I realise how horrid the professor’s actions were, I thought that it was ok at first, since what the professor was doing was for the glory of Academia but...now I understand, understand how far the professor is willing to go to get what he wants. That “monster” was human, and yet the professor tortured him for months, almost an entire _ year _before he managed to escape. No one heard from him again, no one knows where he went. But I know that if I were him, I’d want the professor dead for everything he’s done.

“And now that I realize it, I remember overhearing Academia students who were part of the initial invasion of Heartland _ playing a game _ with how many people they carded. They kept saying ‘I captured ten people!’ or ‘Did you see how many I got? Twenty, all of them scared out of their wits!’ I was going to join them if Yuto didn’t tell me the truth.”

Yuzu felt like she was going to throw up, these students were essentially killing innocent people and _ treated it like it was some elaborate game _. She knew that there were debates about whether or not violent video games would eventually turn children into killers, but this was taken onto another level!

Upon seeing the terrified look on her face, Serena hugged Yuzu tight. “I’m...sorry. That’s the last thing you wanna hear before going to bed.”

“It’s a lot to take in, I admit,” said Yuzu. She then rolled onto her back. “So...are there...other stories about your stay in Academia?”

“Well...there are also rumors that students got punished for entering something called...the Abandoned Dorm.”

“The Abandoned Dorm?”

_ “...Abandoned what now?” _ Said the invisible -- to the two girls -- former CEO of Kaiba Corp. He had been trailing Serena ever since she confessed to carding Hokuto. 

“Yeah. It’s said that years ago, some students entered it in order to conduct creepy rituals,” Serena explained. The rumors about that place are insane: gateways to other dimensions, evil gold eyes glaring at you, duels for life and death. No one is allowed to enter it. The professor had forbade entering it long ago, and those who disobey are put in cells as a _ light _ punishment for even entering it in the first place. 

“Wow...that’s kinda scary. Oh, I have another question.” Yuzu said.

“Hmm? About what?”

“Well, these classes of yours. Like why are they are called Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue? What is the significance?” 

_ “Because I used Obelisk as my personal Egyptian God Card, Ra was used by Marik and Slifer was used by Atem and Yugi who I never forgave for kicking my ass with!” _Seto answered, remembering how he used Obelisk the Tormentor as if it was a lifetime ago (which it kinda was).

“I…”

Serena paused. She didn’t know know why it was like that. To her, it was always like that as natural as her name and how she had that bracelet on her at all times.

“It...was always like that,” Serena answered. “It was just the nature of things.” 

“It doesn’t make sense though: I mean, Slifer and Ra are Egyptian Gods and an obelisk is a type of structure found in Egypt. Is the Professor into Egypt mythology or something?”

“Uh, Yuzu...What’s Egypt?” 

At that, Yuzu’s jaw dropped. Serena had no idea what _ Egypt _ was? She never knew about the world outside of Academia?...Wait...What _ was _ Egypt? How did she know about that place? How did she knew about these _ gods _? She certainly didn’t recall learning this in her Social Studies class.

“Is there anything else about Academia that you know?” Yuzu asked awkwardly, unsure what Serena was going to say next. 

“Well, there are rumors about crazy stuff hiding in Academia,” Serena answered. “There’s the ghost of an ancient pharaoh who was never beaten...”

_ “I don’t remember Atem ever mentioning my Academy. Or even _ attending _ my Academy in the first place...” _Seto muttered.

“A group of thieves identified with scorpion tattoos on their arms...”

_ “...What?” _

“ Along with a vampire and an Amazoness.”

_ “Okay... WHAT?!” _

“A _ vampire _ ?!” Yuzu gawked. “Vampires _ exist _?!”

“Yep,” Serena nodded. “That’s what the rumors say anyway. Some call these strange beings the Shadow Riders because they were enshrouded in darkness and wielded strange artifacts called ‘Shadow Charms’. People think it’s some sort of gang that are in the possession of some of the most powerful cards of all time. The Sacred Beasts or something like that. There were supposedly seven keys needed to open some sort of gate built underneath the academy, each key given to one of the best duelists of the school to pit against one of the Shadow Riders."

_ "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" _Seto roared.

"What happened to the students after that?" Yuzu asked. 

"Most of the duelists fell to the Shadow Riders. No one knows what happened after that, and the rumors about the Shadow Riders disappeared too."

“What type of school is this?” Yuzu questioned, and Seto agreed. Yuzu knew about some of the more...eccentric students in her school investigating the ‘seven mysteries’ there, but none of them compared to these stories! “Are there any rumors...not related to darkness and evil?”

"Well,” Serena began. “Oh! There’s one I’ve heard in regards to Spirit Day at our school.”

“Spirit Day?”

“It’s a special festival held at the end of October,” Serena explained. “Everyone gets to dress up as a Duel Monster and we have...fun, I guess. I dressed up as a witch in a red dress and hat with a long green wig. It was one of the few days where I was...really happy.”

“Oh, it’s like Halloween?”

“Halloween?”

“Yeah. Holiday at the end of October, everyone dresses up in costumes, people celebrate...same thing!”

“Okay then...well, I had fun with two other students that day: one of them dressed like Dark Paladin and another was a girl with blond hair that went past her shoulders in a blue and pink outfit. I think she was a magician or something. She introduced herself as ‘Mana’ to us both, and kept calling the one dressed as Dark Paladin as ‘Little Prince’ for some reason. I actually took to it and started calling him that, I never learned his...name...holy shit, HOLY SHIT!” Serena shouted, sitting up. “IT WAS YURI! YURI WAS DARK PALADIN!”

“What?!” asked Yuzu. “How do you know?”

“I remember his face now! And his eyes,” Seren stated, the memory of seeing the boy with pink hair wearing a white wig, curved black hat and teal face-paint that was Yuri. “Although he did have a kinder expression on his face. He didn’t look like the Yuri who wanted to capture us and send us back to Academia or the sadistic duelist everyone kept talking about. He was...happy.” 

“Happy?” Yuzu repeated, trying her best to imagine a Yuri whose smile didn’t want her to run away. It’s amazing how Yuya’s face can have so many different expressions that the same face can have a smile that can make her heart melt and a smile that can make her blood run ice cold.

“Yeah, really happy. I guess he never had any friends or someone to hang out with him… even back them everyone feared him, I guess that’s why he became so sadistic later,” Serena laid back on the bed. “If I see him again, I’d like to tell him that the Mystical Sand who played with him and Mana was me. But...would he even recognize me after all this time? I mean, I never even gave him my name.”

“I’m sure he would. I mean, you did something for him in one day that no one else did for all those years you were at Academia. You’re a true superhero, Serena!”

Serena’s heart warmed a little at the compliment. She always wanted to be praised as a soldier, but a hero? That sounded much better, and it reminded her of what Steve Trevor said to Diana before his sacrifice.

“‘I can save today, you can save the world,’” Serena mumbled to herself.

Yuzu smiled happily, her heart swelling with pride at Serena recalling the movie. To most people, it would sound awkward to be quoting from a movie...but this was Serena’s _ first _ movie in her life and the fact that Serena could see a role model in Diana and Steve made her want to just cry like her father right now. She heard that movies could inspire people, and now she saw it first hand.

Still with _ Wonder Woman _ in mind, Serena smiled. “You know, speaking of superheroes, I heard rumors from some of the younger students say that there’s a man in a silver coat who wears a dragon mask and a long head of brown hair who goes by the name of ‘Kaibaman’ or something like that. But that’s kind of ridiculous...because ‘Kai’ and ‘ba’ means ‘seahorse’!”

“Well, it is said that if a seahorse lives for a hundred years, they become reborn as a dragon,” said Yuzu, recalling a picture book she read long ago..

“I’m kinda curious as to what type of dragon his helmet is based off of,” Serena commented. “It’s unlike any dragon monster I’ve seen before.”

At that, another thought came to Yuzu’s mind. “Say, Serena…”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever wondered...how Duel Monsters came to be in the first place? I mean, somehow each of these dimensions are capable of using specific summoning methods but has anyone really _ considered _ how the game was created in the first place?”

Serena thought about it, but she got no answer. “No one really knows. The history of Duel Monsters doesn’t exist. Even if there are some books, they were forbidden by the professor.” 

“So...how do all the people in the dimensions know that they can only use one proper summoning method?”

“I don’t know,” Serena answered. “And why does every dimension have a specific summoning method to begin with? And... why is this the only dimension that has heard of all three? I mean I only know of these methods of the Professor but for all I knew before Academia started the invasion, Heartland only knows Xyz, and Synchro only knows...well, Synchro. So what’s the deal?” 

_ “Pegasus was around to make Synchro, although I have no idea who exactly would think to make Xyz Summoning…” _Kaiba grumbled.

“I...don’t know myself. I only know that it was Leo Corp. creating all of these monsters, and it was the LDS that introduced Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Summoning to our dimension. Until then, the best we had Ritual summoning and only a handful of people use that.”

“What about Pendulum?”

“That was invented by Yuya a few months ago,” Yuzu answered. “That one’s a bit of a long story so I’ll tell you in the morning.”

“One more thing though. Yuzu, before the solid vision… who made all these holograms? And the Duel Disks? Where did they come from? I mean, _ someone _ had to have created them...right?”

_ "Yes. Me!" _Seto shouted.

Yuzu nodded her head before she suddenly sat up. “Wait, you’re going to LDS to apologize to Masumi and Yaiba, right?” she asked.

“Yeah…” Serena answered.

“LDS has the most knowledge about Duel Monsters in Maiami City!” Yuzu continued. “Maybe we can find more information about the history of Duel Monsters!”

“Really?” asked Serena.

“Yeah! I mean, they have entire databases on dueling. I bet they’ll have something that will answer our questions.” Yuzu giggled as she laid back in bed. “This is so exciting. I can hardly sleep!”

“But we have to,” said Serena. She laid back and turned so she was staring straight at Yuzu. 

Yuzu reached out and placed a hand on Serena’s cheek. “Good night, Serena.”

“Good night, Yuzu.” Serena replied as she closed her eyes. There was some silence before she opened her eyes and said, “Yuzu?”

“Yeah, Serena?”

Serena smiled before she wrapped her arms around Yuzu. “Aren’t you going to tell a spooky story?”

Yuzu blinked. “I...I’m not sure if the story I said will outdo everything you said.”

“I’ll be the one to decide. Come on, Yuzu. Tell me a story!”

“Well,” Yuzu began. “This is something that Yusho-san once told me.”

Serena tilted her head. “Yusho-san?”

“Yuya’s father, Yusho Sakaki. He was the pioneer of Action Dueling. He built one of the first ever Duel Schools, the You Show Duel School. He...disappeared three years ago and no one knows where he’s been since then.”

“I see. Well, what did Yusho tell you?”

“Well, everything is a rumor of course, like things like that would have been on TV or something.They say there’s a group of people called the Rare Hunters, who steal people’s rarest cards, and even make fake copies of them. But Duel Monsters have souls you see, and they didn’t like being disrespected, so these Rare Hunters would get into mysterious accidents, even sometimes they would get struck dead by lightning!”

_ "Yeah… the Egyptian gods were _ not _ merciful." _Seto replied. 

_ “You're not wrong about that,” _a second voice grumbled next to Kaiba. That came from Joey.

Serena shivered, thinking of Blood Moon Fusion Dragon and the terrors that could be unleashed if the dragon got mad at her. Would he hurt her though? Blood Moon Fusion Dragon seemed to love her as much as she started loving him and the rest of her Duel Monsters. She would never disrespect her precious cards. She knew plenty of students at school who blamed their own cards when it was their own skills that got them to lose. She could imagine these students in their rooms, screaming at these poor monsters or ripping their cards in half...only for the monsters to retaliate and...well, death by lightning probably sounded swift and painless compared to being hacked into pieces, incinerated or swallowed whole.

“Have you ever felt...anything like that before?” Serena whispered.

“No!” Yuzu gasped. “I’d never disrespect my monsters ever! But sometimes...whenever I duel with them, I feel like I can sense their emotions.”

Serena nodded, she knew exactly what Yuzu ment, there’s a special bond with the cards that you have, as close as family.

“Let’s go to sleep then,” Serena said a while later before hugging Yuzu to her like a teddy bear. “Good night.”

Yuzu replied by wrapping her arms around Serena, the indigo-haired girl nuzzling into Yuzu’s chest as they closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

As the two girls slept, they were unaware of not only Seto Kaiba staring at them in disbelief but also Zarc and two other spirits who had been mostly silent at Serena’s stories.

_ Oh, you’re not wrong about that ‘monster’ wanting revenge, Little Luna. _ Zarc thought with a chuckle. 

And right next to him, Seto Kaiba was close to screaming his head off.

_ “WHAT TYPE OF A PLACE DID I BUILD MY ACADEMY ON?!” _he screamed.

Never mind, he was already screaming his head off.

_ “ABANDONED DORMS? GHOSTS? SHADOW RIDERS? SACRED BEASTS? WHO AUTHORIZED ANY OF THAT? DARK MAGICIAN GIRL WAS HANGING AROUND THE SCHOOL? WHAT WAS SHE TRYING TO DO, MAKE PEOPLE PULL SWORDS OUT OF STATUES AGAIN?!” _

_ “Hey,” _ said Joey. _ “You got lucky with the fact that you got a dragon that could fuse with your Trap Cards _ and _ monsters so don’t go complaining about her.” _

_ “And Timaeus, Critias and Hermos are resting,” _ Zarc announced. _ “They’re no longer trapped after you three freed them. They are now back in my castle where they belong.” _

_ “AND KAIBAMAN? AND I AM NOT A SEAHORSE!” _Seto ranted, feeling his anger rise when he heard all of Serena’s stories. And Jounotchi was trying, halfheartedly at best, and very much failing at containing his laughter.

_ “But that _ is _ true, Seto _ .” A younger voice pointed out. This came from a boy with bushy black hair and silver metallic wings with golden trim. “ _ You worked so hard in order to take over Gozaburo’s company. An orphan became CEO of a weapon company and transformed it to one that makes Duel Monsters. Not a lot of people can do such great things.” _

_ “Mokuba’s right, love.” _Joey admitted.

_ “Okay fine,” _ Seto grumbled. _ “But... WHY IS THERE EVEN A KAIBAMAN CARD IN THE FIRST PLACE?!” _

That was when Mokuba looked a little guilty. _ “I made that card, Seto...for when you returned after you went to the underworld…” _

That made Seto freeze for all of three seconds before he deflated and gave a sigh, patting Mokuba’s head, and just brooded silently. 

_ “I had no idea if you would return, or when you did. So I drew it because to me, you were my hero. When the foundations of the school was being built, I buried the card and asked that, if there was a spirit inside it, to bless the Academy and protect people from harm. I’m not sure if the spirit inside the card answered my prayer or not...but it’s wishful thinking if it did.” _

Zarc smiled and patted Mokuba’s head. “If it weren’t for Kaibaman, you and your brother would still be lost in the darkness.”

_ “What?” _ Joey asked. _ “Really?!” _

Zarc nodded his head. _ “He was a spirit who was quite confused about his existence. Why was he called Kaibaman? Why did he have a locket with a picture of a little boy in it? Who was he prior to awakening as he was? Why was he able to summon white dragons with clear blue eyes? He was a jumbled mess of emotions and he needed to find answers. _

_ “So he searched high and low for anyone who could answer these questions in his heart. And one day, he found...the two of you.” _

Mokuba looked in alarm. “_ He did?” _

_ “He did.” _ Zarc answered. _ “Both of you, huddled together in the deepest Darkness, surrounded by shadows, devoid of life. It was only when Kaibaman looked into the picture in your locket that he understood...Kaibaman was a part of the _ real _ Seto Kaiba, a part of his soul that became a duel spirit, which is why he was safe from Ray’s so-called ‘sacrifice’. He shone through the darkest times, the one who was a guiding light to you, Mokuba. _

_ “But the price to bring your brother back was steep. Seto had lost too much of himself, being one of the first to drown in Darkness, and trying everything he could to protect you. Kaibaman knew what to do; he was a part of Kaiba’s soul after all. And to save your brother, he reunited their souls as one. That’s when I saved you both.” _

Mokuba felt a tear trickle down his eye. _ “I never...got to thank him.” _

Zarc smiled, putting a hand on Mokuba’s shoulder. “He knows,” the Supreme Dragon King answered looking at Seto with a smile. “And he’s glad you’re safe.”

Mokuba turned to Seto before launching himself at his older brother and hugging him tightly. _ “My wish was heard...he protected us.” _

Seto hugged his brother back, unsure of what to feel at the moment, all that he was told was too much. The elder Kaiba brother sighed. _ “Well, at least things couldn’t become weirder.” _

And that’s when they heard a mocking laugh. Seto froze before before turning to where the laugh had came from. He narrowed his eyes at a blur of white and black appearing.

_ “You think that’s bad, that was only the _ first _ year,” _ the blur stated before the white and black unfurled itself. All eyes were on the new arrival who looked in his teens, with spiky blue teal hair, orange eyes. Like Seto, Mokuba and Jounochi, he also had a pair of dragon wings: and one white wing, the other a dark gray, but both of them shimmering with multiple colors. He had a dark smirk on his face looking with amusement at the people gathered there.

_ “FOR THE LOVE OF -- “ _ Seto roared. _ “What else fucking happened?” _

“Ah my Dragon Vessel of the Colorless Void, what brings you here?” asked Zarc, amused. 

The Dragon Vessel of the Colorless Void sighed. _ “Well, Seto here wanted to know what else happened at his precious Academy, and I happen to hear the stories straight from the one person who fixed it all. See now all you’ve just heard? Abandoned dorms, Shadow Riders that consisted of thieves, a ladies' man with a dragon mask using the Red Eyes Black Dragon and a vampire, students summoning Jinzo with an ouija board, lots of fun stuff! They were beat by year one ya know, by the sixteen year old Osiris Red student. Oh and FYI, this ‘unbeatable Pharaoh’, Abidos III, wasn’t really unbeatable as it was ‘his servants deliberately lost on purpose to him’”. _

Seto’s grumbles could be easily heard by all of them, one of his blue eyes was twitching and he resisted the urge to facepalm at the mention of Abidos… sometimes he hated remembering his past life so much. Zarc looked at Seto from the corner of his eye, smirking before his eyes landed back on the newest Dragon Vessel. Mokuba was trying to comprehend how all of that happened within the span of a single year. Also _ Jinzo _? And someone using Red Eyes Black Dragon? What was one of Jounochi’s monsters doing wreaking havoc?

_ “Second year? Well, let’s see, your incomptent bickering toddlers of head of the staff were too busy bickering on how to ‘make the school better’ by tearing down the Osiris Dorm -- without your permission might I add -- and subsequently let an actual _ cult _ take over the entire school, brainwash people oh and colored the Obelisk Blue dorm white, not to mention made everyone dress up in white outfits too.” _That was said with so much sadistic glee in the Dragon Vassal of Colorless Void’s voice, with a manic grin and a nonchalant stance, crossing his arms over his chest.

_ “They tried to tear down Slifer Red without asking _ me _ ?!” _ Kaiba growled. He may not have liked Slifer himself -- he was that petty to make Yugi/Atem’s God Card the worst dorm -- but who gave these idiots permission to go behind his back and destroy something in _ his _ school that he issued being built? Not to mention it was a Slifer Red that stopped all of these crazy shenanigans. They wanted to destroy the dorm of _ the person who saved their asses _?!

_ “That Obelisk White is like that Orichalcos thing all over again!” _ Joey grumbled. “ _ Except they got more recruits and stupider uniforms!” _

_ “Oh and you know, that’s not mentioning the _ third _ year with Viper and Yubel, sucking the duel energy out of everyone to the point of passing out and almost dying, the transportation to other dimensions, the Duel Ghouls...Didn’t you hear of _ that _ one? President Pegasus was there to help with that mess.” _Dragon Vassal of Colorless Void snickered.

Thank goodness Serena and Yuzu couldn’t hear Seto’s scream and subsequent ranting for the next five minutes. And thank goodness Seto, unlike Yuto, couldn’t summon lightning storms when he was pissed off.

_ “I am going to murder them, first I’m gonna fire the staff then I’m gonna set the staff on _ actual _ fire! And where is Yubel? That witch has a lot of explaining to do!” _ Seto screamed and was about to continue ranting and cursing people who probably did not exist anymore before Joey stopped him

_ “Shh…” _ said Joey, wrapping Seto into a soft embrace with his black dragon wings and petting the former CEO’s head. _ “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re going to make sure your school returns back to normal.” _

Seto sighed a little, showing off a side to himself only reserved to Jounochi and his brother. He leaned against Jounochi’s shoulder and even placed a soft kiss on his lover’s cheek. _ “Thank you, Katsuya. I really needed that.” _

_ “Um, not to be rude or anything but…” _ Mokuba tilted his head. _ “What were the more _ mundane _ things that happened at Seto’s school?” _

Dragon Vassal of the Colorless Void wheezed in laughter. _ “Oh, where do I _ begin _ ?” _

Mokuba soon regret asking that.

_ “Hmm, well should I start with the apparent orphan duelist who can radiate an intense aura of relaxation, the wild duelist who has the uncanny ability to draw any card he wants...perhaps I should tell you all about that copycat duelist who _ stole _ the King of Games’ deck and imitated him?...oh I know! How about the training facility on the island that did experiments to make a dueling monkey named Wheeler! Did I mention all that also took place in the first year?” _

And Kaiba found himself with the rising need to tear out his own hair out more and more.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_ The night sky was dark, as the silver rays of the full moon lit the world underneath her. Serena blinked as her situation became clear: she was riding her new dragon, Blood Moon Fusion Dragon, in the sky among the clouds at night. This was a dream, she realized with a startling clarity. A new dream she'd never had the likes of those before. _

_ The wind played with her hair as she flew above Academia's forest. Arms were around her securing her on top of her dragon as she realized she was sitting on the lap of the man who had given Serena her new dragon. He smiled down at her, a soft almost loving smile, his silver locks danced in the winds, his golden mask still firmly on his face. The man hugged Serena to him a little tighter, but it wasn't suffocating. Serena could easily remove herself from his hold, but she chose not to, it simply felt so nice. _

_ "Hello Little Luna," he said softly, and Serena couldn't help but smile at him and lean to his chest comfortably. _

_ "H-hello again," Serena said smiling shyly at the man. "And...thank you for Blood Moon. He helped me so much in my battles." Zarc smiled and ruffled Serena’s hair lovingly. _

_ "I'm glad that it did," he said, petting Serena's dragon with a gentle hand. Blood Moon purred happily at the touch. It made Serena happy as well. _

_ "You've done well, Serena. You are all that I hoped for and more," Zarc said softly. _

_ "R-really?" she asked eyes widening, her smile did the same when he nodded. _

_ "I'm quite proud, you're very strong and capable," Zarc said, and he was being quite honest with her. _

_ "Th-thank you, um, sir... I mean …I... still don't know your name," Serena said. She always wanted praise and recognition from Professor Akaba, to show that she was a true soldier who can charge into battle without fear or hesitation. This person was giving it to her and acted like he truly cared for her in comparison to how distant the Professor was. He gave her this love and affection like Shuzo and Yuzu did. _

_ Zarc chuckled softly. "It's better this way, if you know my true name you would be in more danger than you already are." _

_ Serena frowned. "But I can handle myself, and I'm not alone either, I have Yuzu, and she...she said Yuya wouldn't mind being my friend and fighting by my side either. I'll...I'll be fine." _

_ “That doesn’t sound like you’re fine to me…” _

_ “I just…” Serena sighed. “I really want to tell Yuzu about what’s going on. I mean, she now knows about Professor Akaba’s plan to unite the dimensions, but why can’t I tell her about Ray? That Rin, Ruri, Yuzu and I all have similar faces and bracelets because resemble that Professor’s daughter?” _

_ Zarc frowned. “Serena, if you could respect my wishes, it is not only a risk to you to know my name, it is a risk to your friend, Yuzu, and to her friends who will soon be yours as well. Furthermore, it will be a risk to me.” _

_ “What do you mean ‘a risk to you’?” _

_ “Akaba is my enemy as well, I have my own vendetta against him, and he has his own against me. Right now, he believes I’m dead. It’s best to keep it that way; you don’t know if he might be keeping spies around or someone who could report back to him of my existence.” _

_ Serena paused. “Like Sora?” _

_ “That’s right,” he answered with a nod. “You can’t judge someone by the deck they duel with. Masks can hide many things, little Luna. Not just the face, but the intentions, the desire even the purpose. Some masks you can’t even see but people will wear them all the same.” _

_ "So what does _ your _ mask hide?” _

_ Zarc smiled softly. “My everything. I wear this for the protection of the people I love, to hide from Akaba’s eyes and ears.” _

_ “Am I allowed...to see your face? I...I know you think it’s risky but I’m curious all the same.” _

_ Zarc’s mouth took a hard angle as he contemplated on Serena’s request. Serena looked a little uneasy, and so did Blood Moon Fusion Dragon. Then, Zarc nodded his head. “I suppose...Little Luna, I can trust you with this, right? Please understand, it is dangerous, but I trust you. Do you understand the risk?” _

_ Serena swallowed hard. “I do. I understood the risk that was needed to leave Academia to ‘hunt’ after the Xyz fugitives. And I know that I’m risking a lot defecting from Academia.” _

_ “Serena, it’s not just you at risk. By trusting you, I compromise my own children in a way. I know you’re capable, I know you’re strong, and I am giving you my trust, so you understand?” _

_ “...I do.” _

_ “Very well,” Zarc took Serena’s hand in his own, guiding it towards the mask. “Take a good hard look at what you see before you.” _

_ With a shaky hand like leaves hit with a harsh wind, Serena removed the mask. But when she saw what was underneath it, her eyes widened with horror. _

_ “Your face…” She stammered out, nearly dropping the mask out of her hands. “I...it looks so similar to…” _

_ Zarc nodded. “They are my sons. Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, Yuri…” _

_ “Sons...Sons?!” Serena squeaked. Bad enough knowing there were different versions of Yuri, but now she was talking with his Father?! _

_ He nodded once again “Yes, my sons, my precious treasures, and I would do _ anything _ for them, to make sure that they are safe, and happy. While I understand what Yuri made you and Yuzu go through, please understand that he did not know better back then. It was only a day ago that I got him back from the professor’s clutches and back into my own arms. You didn’t know any better either, but now you are working to make it up to the people you’ve hurt, so is my Yuri. _

_ “I have to,” said Serena. “I don’t want to be like those Academia students playing a game with innocent people’s lives. I want to be able to stop the Professor from unleashing his insane plan. I...I have to make it up to Shuzo-san and Yuzu, my father and sister. And I don’t care if I’m being naive about it, that I’m just fighting for two people I barely know...but it’s better than nothing.! They love me like I was part of their family, and I want to use that love to fight back. I want to _ believe _ in love...that only love can truly save the world.” _

_ Serena stared at Zarc dead in the eye, the talk with Yuzu about Diana Prince’s philosophy in her mind. So what if Professor Akaba’s ‘love’ for his daughter caused all of this? That wasn’t love at all! The professor was selfish and greedy to the core; Shuzo and Yuzu were selfless and generous when it came to taking her in for the night, even when she revealed what she had done. Serena believed in _ that _ love, the one where people wanted what was best for others, to make them happy. _

_ Zarc gave Serena a proud smile. “Love is indeed very powerful, and I am very glad that you found people who could also give it to you. You deserve nothing less, Little Luna. I want to help you, keep you happy, and out of Leo Akaba’s clutches forever.” _

_ “You really would?” Serena asked and looked down at Blood Moon. “You trusted me, told me the truth on what the Professor is planning, gave me Blood Moon as a gift, and you trusted me with your face, with your sons’ secret. I...I would be honored to help in any way at can...on one condition.” _

_ “Anything.” _

_ “I want Shuzo-san and Yuzu protected. Please...whatever plans you have, I don’t want them hurt.” _

_ “You have my word, I’ll try everything in my power to keep both of them safe, from Akaba or otherwise,” Zarc promised before kissing Serena’s forehead gently. _

_ Serena’s cheeks became a little red. She...she loved Yuzu and Shuzo so much. In one night, they gave her a home, a _ family _ . But this man...he gave her truth, trust, security, protection. He believed in her and believes she can be even stronger. It’s all she ever wanted, and she still wants it but for another reason. _

_ She once wanted to be strong to prove that she could fight in a war. Now she wanted to be strong to protect others _ from _ the war. _

_ “Now, give me your bracelet hand.” _

_ Serena nodded her head as she held out her right hand towards Zarc. All her life she wondered why she had that bracelet, believing it was a clue to her past. Now it was an ugly reminder that it wasn’t really _ her _ past, but rather that of Ray Akaba’s. _

_ Well, no longer. She wasn’t going to be asking for praise from the Akabas. She wasn’t that anymore. She was Serena...Hiragi, was it? Yes, that was Reiji said. Yuzu Hiragi...and now, Serena Hiragi. _

_ The idea of having a last name made her feel happy. Many students from Academia had last names, meaning that they had parents. Serena could now join them, except that she wasn’t going to turn out like them: mindless, savage soldiers who thought of hurting others. If their parents could see them now… _

_ Zarc’s hand wrapped around the bracelet, and before her eyes it turned to dust, and his hands wrapped around her wrist gently instead. When his fingers were removed, there was now a tattoo on her wrist, two black lines criss-crossed and between them a large crescent moon drawn like a bracelet inked onto her skin. _

_ “A small gift from me, Serena. You’ll come to your powers when you’re ready for them,” Zarc whispered ruffling her hair affectionately, and she smiled sweetly at Zarc. _

_ “I won’t let you down, and I’ll protect Yuzu and Shuzo-san with everything I have. I swear.” Serena vowed. _

_ “You’re a good girl, Serena. I know you won’t let me down.” _

_ “Thank you...Wait a second!” said Serena, realizing something very important. “I...I never even got your name! Does your name start with ‘Yu’ like your sons?” _

_ Zarc couldn’t help but snicker at that. “No, no it does not. And I’d appreciate you never saying my name out loud, alright?” _

_ “Okay. So..if it doesn’t start with ‘Yu’, what does it start with?” _

_ “If we go by the Western alphabet, it starts with a ‘Z’.” _

_ “Z?” _

_ “My name, Little Luna, is _ Zarc. _ Supreme Dragon King.” _

_ “Supreme...Dragon King…” _

_ Zarc smiled, “Indeed. Now then, time to go to sleep Serena.” _

_ “But I already am a--” _

** _Sleep._ **

_ Somehow, Serena’s eyes grew heavy and she leaned forward. But she fought the urge to fall asleep as she felt head rest against Zarc’s chest. With her last moments of being conscious, she felt Zarc’s arms wrap around her protectively and mumbled one sentence. _

_ “Please...tell Yuri...I was...that...witch…” _

And in the real world, Serena’s grip around Yuzu tightened and Yuzu’s hand was clamped over the wrist with Serena’s tattoo, fingers lightly pressed over the crescent.

**************

Shun woke up the next morning feeling happy, safe and warm like a baby bear warmed by their mother during winter. It took him a minute to notice the warm body sleeping in his arms. Shun opened his eyes and noticed his head buried in Yuto’s shoulder. He shuddered with delight and nuzzled his prince, letting him love every single moment he could have with him as if he is afraid that Yuto would be taken away from him. This was the first night that the two have slept in each other’s arms and the feeling was better than Shun could have ever imagined. 

Yuto was so warm and beautiful when he was asleep. He had a peaceful expression on his face, his eyes closed and soft lips slightly parted as he breathed -- a perfect, beautiful face that Shun can stare at all day. And there was the soft smooth skin that he was aching to touch and kiss and taste. He would have loved to do all of that right now; he’d had quite the filthy thoughts and fantasies about Yuto even before he had became Yuto’s treasure, things he never dreamed to tell anyone especially Yuto, not even now, especially not now. 

But what Shun had done yesterday, attacking and harming Yuri, no matter what Yuri had done to him, or had taken, he was a prince, a dragon prince, Lord Zarc's son and Yuto's brother. Shun had sworn himself to serve them as his king and prince, and yet he had attacked, he had let his anger win, and without thinking he has broken the oath that he had made. He betrayed Yuto and Lord Zarc's trust. He shouldn't be alive right now. He shouldn't be considered a treasure he shouldn't have been shown tenderness and kindness by his prince yesterday, he wasn't worthy of waking up like this again. 

Tears fell down Shun's face. He shouldn't be here. He doesn't deserve this, doesn't deserve his prince or his mark, doesn't deserve to be alive. He had to leave. Shun wiped the tears away as he released himself from Yuto’s embrace, missing it the moment he was no longer in his prince’s arms.

Finding a scrap of paper and a pen by the wreck of the table, Shun hastily scribbled two words before leaving. He only carried a bottle of water and his Duel Disk, seeing as he was used to walking around with only the essentials. After looking at Yuto’s sleeping face one last time, Shun left the room, closing the door behind him as to not disturb Yuto’s slumber, and wordlessly headed towards the elevator.

It didn’t take much longer for Yuto to wake up. The last few days he had gotten used to sleeping beside his brothers, and not waking up alone. His eyes fluttered open to the unfamiliar room, making him sit up quickly and look around him in suspicion, the negative emotions in the back of his mind not helping him 

It took him a few moments to realise where he was and remember what had happened yesterday. He frowned, looking around and trying to sense where Shun was. It wasn’t helping when he saw the two words on Shun’s hastily scribbled note, _ “I’m sorry.” _

_ “Shun? Where are you going? Why did you leave my side?!” _Yuto thought, gritting his teeth.

At the entrance to the LDS tower, Shun froze and bit his lip when he heard Yuto’s voice inside his head. He continued to walk without answering. 

Yuto frowned, Shun had never acted like that before, even if he was in trouble he would have answered Yuto immediately. Shun was...disobeying Yuto...** _Leaving _ ** Yuto ** _. _ **The Prince of Xyz’s eyes turned to slits at the thought. 

Shun was his treasure. ** _His! _ ** Shun had no right to leave his side, had no right to leave Yuto without a word and to not answer him. 

_ “Shun. Come back to me. Now,” _ Despite his rage Yuto commanded Shun with a steady voice. And waited. If Shun doesn’t answer or obey he’s go fetch him himself. 

Shun paused, but then he shook his head. _ “I’m sorry, my Prince. I can’t.” _

Yuto’s anger and hurt intensified. _ “What do you mean you can’t? Come back to me this instant!!” _

The mental yell and command almost knocked Shun off his feet, and made him clutch his head in pain. Still, Shun was adamant about his decision to leave.

_ “Forgive me my prince, it hurts to disobey you, but I must. I am not worthy to be by your side.” _

Yuto’s eyes widened in shock before they narrowed with rage. He growled, ready to summon a storm to bring Shun back. How dare his treasure refuse to be by his side? How dare Shun disobey him again and again? How dare he belittle Yuto’s worth like that?! Enough was enough! Yuto was going to retrieve his wayward treasure immediately. 

He called upon the shadows to bring him to Shun’s side. He arrived at an alley and grabbed Shun inside as soon as he was close, slamming him into the side of a building. Shun was ready to attack whoever it was before noticing Yuto there. “Y-Yuto...how?”

“And just _ where _do you think you’re going?” The unbridled rage beneath the calm question terrified the Raidraptor duelist, shivers ran down his spine.

“Yuto,” Shun breathed, before Yuto narrowed his eyes again and dragged Shun back to the room using his shadows once more. Shun had gasped when he was tossed into the bed. The feeling of his soul drowning in darkness was still as unpleasant as the first time. And he shivered in fear at the sensation and at Yuto’s anger and rage in the back of his mind while shadows wrapped around his wrists and ankles to the bedposts, preventing him from escaping.. 

“Well my caged bird? Why did you leave me?” Yuto growled and Shun swallowed. 

“My prince…” Shun whispered, looking away. “I...I don't believe I deserve to be yours. I thought about it...how you gave me that dream and all I did was break your trust. I was hurt, angry at Yuri...but I crossed a line. I failed you and your lord Father. And I harmed your brother. He looked so...so vulnerable. I don’t...I don’t understand why he was like that.” 

“Yuri got his memories back like the rest of us. We brought him back and Awakened him, so he remembers that he is the Prince of Fusion, eldest son of Supreme Dragon King Zarc,” Yuto answered, grabbing Shun’s chin, forcing his treasure to look Yuto straight in the eye. “And _ you _had no right to run away from my side. Worthy or not that is my decision to make, not yours.”

“I don't care about that anymore!” Shun exclaimed, turning his head away once more, shocking Yuto. “I messed up so badly. I should be dead by Prince Yuri's feet. Your father would want my head on a pike! Just abandon me, tell me to go away...send me back to the Xyz dimension for all I care. I don't deserve you, or Ruri...dying in Heartland alone is much better than this!”

“NO!” Yuto roared. Shun’s mark started to burn and Yuto's eyes turned stormy before glowing lavender. Shun gasped at the sensation, as if someone forced a hot iron deep into his skin. “Have you forgotten who I am?!” Yuto yelled in rage. “I'm YOUR _ PRINCE, _ SHUN! You will be where I want you to be. By my side, _ alive _ . What you did was idiotic to say the fucking least, attacking my brother and then leaving my side without a word before disobeying my direct orders! But it is by _ my will _ that you lived by my will you will stay where you belong. With ME!”

Shun clenched his teeth, his body on fire, the mark becoming more painful with Yuto’s anger. “P-Please...no...no more!” he begged. “I beg you, my prince…”

“You are _ mine _ , Shun Kurosaki,” Yuto grabbed Shun’s chin again, forcing his treasure to turn his wide golden eyes to look at his prince. “Get this through that pretty head of yours. You belong to _ me. _” The prince of Xyz kissed Shun roughly, making the Raidraptor duelist gasp and whimper. Yuto took advantage of that opening, his tongue entering into Shun’s mouth and ravishing him within an inch of his life. 

Shun gasped for breath, his eyes half laid and filled with lust as Yuto released him, licking his lips, both of them panting. Yuto climbed onto the bed and straddled Shun’s waist. Shun did not resist; rather, he groaned at the contact of Yuto’s body on top of his.

“My-my prince,” Shun breathed, begging his prince to touch him. He didn’t care where, but just as long as Yuto’s fingers were on his body, it didn’t matter.. 

Yuto’s eyes had gone back to the stormy grey that Shun adored. He noticed Yuto had half transformed: black-violet scales formed around his face, his claws gotten longer, his teeth became sharp fangs and his dark tail was waving around in the air. Yuto’s hands moved up Shun’s chest looking ready to shred his coat into ribbons. His eyes were glowing again, filled with authority and power, making Shun feel so small, so powerless, so _ good _ . “Obey me Shun,” Yuto commanded. “Never leave my sight without permission. Don’t even _ think _ of trying to run away from me again. You are my treasure, _ mine _ . I decide your worth to me, not you. You belong where I say you belong, and you will never _ ever _ disobey me again.” 

The commands burned in Shun's mind like how the mark burned on his back. He cannot escape Yuto anymore, no more. Tears fell down his eyes at the pain, as if a part of his soul was being pulled out of his body and into Yuto’s hands.

“Yuto…” Shun gasped. “I...I…”

The mark stopped burning, and Yuto kissed him tenderly. Shun looked up and could feel droplets of water falling down his cheeks...Yuto was...crying? 

“Why would you do such a thing?” Yuto sobbed. “I have been nothing but kind to you and yet you shatter my heart by _ leaving me _?!”

“Yuto…” Shun whispered, wishing to wipe those tears away. His prince shouldn’t be crying...

“All I want is to love and control you. All I want is to keep you safe, to keep you by my side.” Yuto’s shoulders were shaking as he wiped the tears with his hand. “And yet you break my heart...have I been a horrible prince? A dragon who cannot keep his treasures loved and protected is not worthy of them...I failed to protect Heartland and Ruri...have I failed to protect my own treasure too?!” 

“My prince, no, no, not that, never that!” Shun exclaimed. “You’ve been so _ wonderful _to me, loving, caring. You gave me everything, but I’ve made so many mistakes, I was not worthy of you. I wish for nothing but to stay in your arms forever, to be yours for eternity. Do not cry my prince, please, I’m not worth these precious tears.” Shun pleaded. ”But tell me...am I really that important to you?” 

Yuto looked at Shun, eyes still glassy with tears. “Don’t you understand, Shun? You’re my treasure,” he caressed Shun’s face tenderly. “Precious to my heart. Important to my very soul. Mine and mine alone. I cannot bear to lose you. And I know, deep down, that you have feelings for me too. Isn’t that correct?”

Shun paused, somewhat embarrassed to admit that he had loved Yuto for the longest of times. “Yes, it’s true...I did have feelings for you. But when I found out that Ruri felt the same for you, I stepped down. I figured you’d love her more than me.”

“I felt it selfish of me back then, because I couldn’t choose. I wanted you _ both _,” Yuto tilted his head at seeing the shame on Shun’s face. “But I don’t have to choose now, do I?” he said as his tail caressed Shun’s cheek, making the older boy gasp. 

“My prince…” Shun shivered. The tail felt so cold to the touch, scaly yet somewhat loving. “My prince…”

Yuto’s hands trailed down Shun’s chest. “Speak, Shun, don’t leave me in suspense.” 

“My prince, I want you. I feel ashamed to have this love while my sister is captured. I want you though, want to give my mind, heart, body and soul to you. I am devoted to you and your family’s cause.” Shun spoke.

Yuto closed his eyes smiling tenderly at him. He opened his eyes looking at Shun with love and adoration. “Do you love me, Shun?” 

“I do, my beloved prince.”

“My precious treasure, tell me you’re mine, tell me you’ll do _ anything _for me. Tell me you’ll obey, you’ll always obey my commands. That you will not only serve me, but you also serve the other members of the family. My brothers and my Father.”

“Always,” Shun promised. “I am yours; I will do anything for you. I’ll always obey your commands, and serve your family.” Memories of Yuto under Yuri’s spell, claws on his throat, flashed through his mind. He did not want to experience that again.

Yuto caressed Shun’s cheek with the back of his hand. “Shhh, do not fear Yuri. He knows how precious you are to me. He would not have truly hurt you, he knew I would not have forgiven him if he had,” Yuto leaned closer and licked the exact place his claw had ran down Shun’s skin. The older boy gasped and arched his back. 

Delighted at the reaction, Yuto attached their foreheads together sending Shun an endless stream of thoughts and emotions of how pleased he was. A combination of happiness, pleasure and possessiveness. “You’re mine,” he sighed in delight. “And I will love and control you forever, keep you in perpetual happiness and bliss, make you forget everything but me when you are in my arms, make you beg for me again and again, make you scream from pleasure. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?” 

Shun was gasping, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, back arching, lips open in a silent scream. It was wonderful; to be in his prince’s arms, happy, loved and in the throes of rapture.

_ “Doesn't it feel good how you are controlled my treasure? It shows how much I love you. I never want you to leave me. Never be anywhere but by my side, loved and treasured. Never want you hurt and alone. I love you Shun. Stay with me, forever.” _

_ “Y...Yuto…” _

_ “You cannot disagree with your Prince...you know you want this.” _

_ “I do...I want to be yours forever. Make me feel good, my love. And I shall serve you till the end of days.” _

Yuto shivered in delight at the declaration, sending his pleasure back to Shun immediately, making the older boy gasp. He wanted to wrap his arms around his prince, pull him in closer, kiss him, taste him. But the shadows still held him hostage, under his prince’s mercy. The thought made him shiver in delight again. Yes this is where he belonged, under his prince’s commands, a slave to his whims. 

“My treasure. Nothing will take you away from me.” Yuto whispered softly

“Yuto…” Shun breathed the name in prayer. “I am forever yours…I offer every fiber of my being for a simple smile, a look in your eye, a kiss, a touch...” 

Yuto caressed Shun's face lovingly. “Do you now understand where you belong my love?”

“With you...” Shun replied, eyes filled with adoration, devotion and love. 

“Good boy,” Yuto whispered, lips close to Shun’s. Shun was panting, impatiently waiting for Yuto to kiss him again, to have those lips kiss him everywhere, he’d do anything just for one more kiss from his prince. “Now, declare your loyalty and devotion to me, my love.” 

“I belong to you, by your side, I am your treasure, I am to be where you want me to be. I will stay with you forever, and never think of walking away like that. Only you decide if I am worthy or not. I exist by your will.” Shun shivered with delight with every repeated command, the Mark sending shocks of pleasure as Yuto is more and more satisfied

“Excellent…” Yuto purred, placing a kiss on Shun’s lips. Shun gasped and moaned, thrashing against his restraints once more to reach his prince, to touch him, to love him as he has shown love onto this poor treasure who crushed his heart. 

“...But this does not mean you are forgiven for your crime against the royal family.” Yuto added once they broke the kiss.

Shun nodded his head. “Of course not my lord. I do accept whatever punishment I would be given. I have no right to believe otherwise.”

"Father understands that you were hurt," Yuto whispered huskily. “Having lost so much, it is understandable that you would feel frustrated. So he has decided to forgo punishment. Instead, you must prove your worth in a challenge," he said caressing Shun's face lovingly. 

"A challenge?" He wondered at how his lords' mercy truly extended. "Against who, my lord? And when?"

“Soon. I will assume that you would want revenge on the traitor that caused our suffering correct?”

“Dennis?” Shun snarled, recalling what Yuto told him that night. That it was Dennis who signaled the attack on Heartland, that it was Dennis who would lead Yuri to capture Ruri. That it was Dennis who was that Academia had so much fun carding people. “Yes, it would be my _ honor _to destroy that traitor.”

“And you will bring that traitor to me so I can personally deliver proper punishment. He must pay, for taking Ruri away, from ruining our home, for going against Yusho Sakaki's teachings!”

"Yes, my Prince. As you command." 

A delighted grin stretched across both of their lips. Both thinking of vengeance against the traitor who had caused them all that grief. He would pay for using his charming looks to Ruri...only to reveal himself as a venomous snake that didn’t care who got hurt if it meant Academia had its way.

“Good treasure…” Yuto purred, giving Shun another kiss on the cheek.

“Please, please my prince, let me touch you.” Shun begged, feeling shocks of electricity spread through his body. It felt so good, he wanted more. More touches from his prince, more kisses, more smiles and soft voices in his ear. He was being greedy but he wanted it all, wanted his prince's love. 

Yuto hummed. “Hmm, no, consider this your...punishment for leaving my side this morning. And for disobeying me...I’m not going to remove a stitch of clothing on you, my pretty. I’m gonna make you come undone, fully clothed and bound as is.” 

“Th-that’s torture, my lord,” Shun whined.

“Maybe, but if I don’t punish you, how will you learn?” Yuto chuckled, licking his lips. “Now, it’s time for you to be _ punished _.”

Shun groaned; the way Yuto said that word made his mind grow heavy. He wanted to be punished. He was a horrible treasure to go against Prince Yuto’s command. Shun's body was on fire. His face was crimson, his eyes filled with lust, and all that's on his mind is to obey Yuto, to beg for his prince to please punish him as he sees fit. 

A small whining noise came out of Shun, and he looked away, ashamed at the sound he'd just made. Thank goodness Yuri wasn’t here to see this...

He heard Yuto laugh before cupping his chin making Shun look at his prince. "What a wonderful noise," he whispered, before his hand moved up his chest, the material of the shirt being pressed against his skin before Yuto pinched one of his nipples through said shirt. "Make it again," he commanded with delight, his tail wrapping around one of his legs, teasing Shun even more. 

Shun gasped and another whine escaped his lips. Yuto laughed in delight. "More, _ more _ ," he chuckled, before taking a breath and looking down at Shun with half laid eyes. "No one is going to interrupt us now. You're all mine, my beautiful falcon knight. And I'm going to play such _ wonderful _games with you," he breathed before licking the shell of Shun's ear, making the older boy shiver in delight and gasp.

Yes, yes Shun wanted this, His mind was hazy with lust, heady at the sensations of his prince's touches. He shivered at the look Yuto was giving him, as if his prince wanted to devour him whole. And Shun desired him to, was desperate for his prince to do as he desired to him, to play with his body for as long as he wanted. Wanted Yuto to be like the Big Bad Wolf with such big teeth to eat him piece by piece.

Yuto tilted his head as he sensed the train of thought in Shun’s mind. “Oh? What wicked thoughts you have…”

Shun shivered when he remembered Yuto could read his every thought and emotion. He felt even more ashamed, his mind remembering his dark fantasies and becoming even _ more _red in the face, trying to remove these thoughts from his mind so Yuto would not find out about them. Unfortunately, his efforts seemed only to backfire, making Yuto laugh as more fantasies came to Shun's mind. Curse his thought process! 

“Well then again, you did mention how you wished to dress in silks and dance for me if Yuu Sakurai didn’t run away like a wuss,” Yuto muttered to himself.

Shun whimpered, before Yuto attacked his lips ravishing him, and finally removing any and all thought from his mind, making it an open book for whatever Yuto wanted to imprint. Shun quickly stopped struggling, his body ready for anything Yuto had in mind.

"Now what are you so embarrassed about my treasure?” Yuto cooed. “You belong to me, mind, heart, body and soul. Even those dirty little fantasies belong to me~ are you _ really _trying to hide such wonderful wicked thoughts from me, my precious?" He licked his fangs, wanting to indulge in those fantasies here and now.

If Shun could talk, he’d try to find some cover as to why he wouldn’t be doing such a thing. Alas, he was essentially an unmoving doll now. 

"Well?" said Yuto, before thrusting his hips against Shun's, rubbing their members together again and again, the friction between their pants causing Yuto to sigh. Shun wanted to scream and yell and beg for more. He'll do anything, anything just _ please more. _

Yuto chuckled, hearing Shun beg for more in his mind. "Oh I _ would _my dear, I truly would, but see how you forgotten? This is your punishment. And if you keep trying to hide such delicious things from me, it'll only get worse~ Now take it like a good boy, and scream for me. Beg and whine and whimper for my pleasure." 

Shun whimpered; his mind was open to any and all commands. So if Yuto asked it, he will comply.

Yuto was delighted at Shun’s submission. He almost wanted to applaud how obedient Shun was becoming. But to give praise when Shun needed to be punished will not do. He leaned closer to Shun's ear before whispering. "I'm going to break you. And you're gonna love every. Last. Minute," he sucked Shun's earlobe between his lips before giving the older boy more shallow thrusts. 

“Ahhh….” Shun gasped, bucking his own hips in response, mind loving the friction between the two. “Mooooree~” and Yuto chuckled in delight. He would never get tired of how melodious that sounded: to hear his treasure beg for this pleasure while he was completely blissed out of his mind, unaware of his surroundings and the situation he was in. So consumed by the pleasure that he wasn’t aware of how Yuto pulled his shirt far enough so he could see that smooth chest with its faint scars, Yuto licked his lips, his treasure was far too beautiful. 

"How long should I keep your punishment going I wonder," Yuto said, lips latching onto one of Shun's nipples and his tail caressing and teasing Shun's side. "How long can I keep this up until you go insane or I decide to give you the release you're so _ desperate _to have?"

Shun couldn't answer that question. He laid on the bed, bound by shadows panting, back arching, wanting more of Yuto's touch, mouth stretched open as he moaned and howled in pleasure, a trail of drool trickling down his chin that landed on the pillow.

“Guess we’ll have to find out…” Yuto grinned. 

He kept the punishment going, Shun’s whimpers, gasps and yelling was music to Yuto’s ears. It was two more hours of Yuto playing and teasing Shun with gentle strokes of his fingers, tongue and tail on such beautiful toned skin combined with Yuto sending Shun thoughts of how Shun was to forever stay by his side, burning more commands of complete obedience into his treasure’s mind, before the dragon prince decided that it was time for the fun to end. Yuto continued this torture before with a single command from his lips, Shun became undone. He came with a loud scream, and passed out for a few minutes, his pants sullied from his release, body sweaty and limp, his mind completely blank.

Yuto chuckled as he heard Shun’s thought process, feeling it shatter like glass at the torture. If this was Shun when he was fully clothed, Yuto couldn’t help but imagine how Shun would react when he wasn’t. “Oh, I need to get you something else to wear~” he teased. “Ah, but what would look so _ beautiful _ on you? One that shows the world that you are my precious precious treasure? Not only that, but you’ll need to wash up also...oh, I bet you look so handsome all squeaky clean...” Yuto patted Shun’s face a few times. “Come now Shun, take a bath with your prince.” 

With a snap of his fingers, Yuto watched the shadows slither away. Shun fell into a crumpled heap, body curled to his side as he laid exhausted from his punishment. He was still smiling though, his mind only filled with currents of pleasure -- both from him receiving it and happy at how his prince was satisfied in breaking Shun down.

Yuto smiled before running his hand through Shun’s hair. “Good treasure, no leaving me again, okay?” he asked, kissing Shun cheek.

“Okaaaaay~” Shun slurred. 

“Can you stand?” Yuto asked.

Shun tried to, muscles tingly from every little touch Yuto gave him. He was capable of standing up right...before he leaned onto his side and pouted. “Noooo~”

“Oh~ my poor treasure,” Yuto tilted his head playfully, his tail swinging in the air. “Come ‘er,” he said before carrying Shun to the bathroom, sitting him on the side of the tub before removing his jacket and tearing the rest of his clothes off, snickering at the mess Shun made. “You wouldn’t be needing these anyway,” he said, running his claw gently down Shun’s cheek and neck, making the older boy gasp and shiver. Yuto gave Shun a peck on his lips before filling the tub with water and wait for it to fill. He patted Shun’s head, running his claws through his hair.

“Such a good treasure. I tired you out so much, didn’t I?” he purred gleefully as Shun tried to press himself to Yuto’s hand even more. “Oh? You still want more? Well...I’ll be glad to give it to you…”

Minutes later, Shun was relaxing in the tub as Yuto began washing Shun’s hair with lavender-scented shampoo. Yuto couldn’t help but smile; Father always would run his claws through their hair whenever they had baths. He and his brothers loved swimming around in their dragon forms pretending they were sharks. They even had a game to see who could bite whom; last one standing got to choose the story Father read to them at night! 

He placed a kiss on Shun’s shoulder as the relaxed atmosphere brought even more memories to the surface. Yuto sighed contently before washing the shampoo out of Shun’s hair, and started cleaning his body with equally smelling lavender soap.

“They say lavender is good for relaxation,” Yuto purred, rubbing the purple bar of soap in between his hands and lathering it all over Shun’s back. “It’s not good for eating, though…”

Shun didn’t respond, sighing at the hot water bath that he hasn’t had since the day of the invasion, at the smell of lavender relaxing him even more, at Yuto’s voice echoing in his tired mind. 

“Yuto…YutoYutoYuto….” Shun repeated, his golden eyes suddenly shining with life. 

“Are you waking up now, Shun?” Yuto asked. 

Shun turned his head to look at Yuto, a loving smile on his lips. He hadn’t been this calm and happy and relaxed in so long; he doesn’t even remember the last time in his life he felt close to this...but a part of him felt guilty that Yuto was doing this.

“Shouldn't I be the one to serve you, my prince?” Shun questioned. “You’re doing so much for me. And after I acted so cruelly.” 

Yuto smiled tenderly and pressed Shun to his chest. “I like taking care of you. Gods know you need someone to do it,” Yuto kissed Shun’s forehead. “And you can always return the favor.” Shun turned his body, and rested his head on Yuto’s shoulder giving his neck a few loving kisses. 

Ten minutes later, the two boys were laying in bed together, Shun’s head buried in Yuto’s shoulder as Yuto whispered softly to his ears and ran his hand gently through Shun’s hair. Shun was...well, naked, his body covered by the bedsheets in comparison to Yuto in a pair of grey boxers, but this was fine. It was easier for Yuto to smell that lavender soap and shampoo on Shun’s body.

Shun gripped onto Yuto tight as he felt somewhat sick that he was given this affection while his sister suffered an unknown fate. Was she locked up and shackled in a dungeon? Was she being tortured? Was she crying out for someone to save her? These thoughts circled his mind and he began to cry. Here he was, his prince giving him all types of affection and he was unable to do anything to save his little sister. What kind of big brother was he? 

“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Yuto purred, eyes glowing soft. “Ruri will be back with us soon...she will, I promise. Yuri won’t fail us. He’ll make sure to protect her and Rin…”

Shun sniffled a bit, tears still in his eyes

“My beautiful treasure,” Yuto cooed, kissing the tears that were forming on the corners of Shun’s eyes. “Just be happy… you’re safe in my arms now.” 

He placed his fingers on Shun’s back over the black mark. With a single press, Shun gasped in pleasure before relaxing once again, eyes half open and glazing over.

“That’s it, just get lost in these feelings Shun, that’s all you need to feel in my arms.” Yuto purred.

Shun smiled, his mind empty except for the pleasure and happiness he felt as long as he was in Yuto’s arms.

“You are mine, Shun Kurosaki...always and forever... “ Yuto promised, licking his fangs. “I won’t let anyone take you away from me.” he kissed Shun’s lips tenderly as the older boy moaned softly 

“Yuto…” Shun breathed. “I’m so sorry…” 

“Shhh, that doesn’t matter right now.” 

“I was horrible, my prince. I don’t...deserve you, I ran away from you, I should have stayed and faced the consequences. I...I was a coward.”

Yuto gently grabbed Shun’s chin. “Look into my eyes now, shh, let it all fade away, nothing to worry about, nothing to fear,” 

Shun stared back at those beautiful grey eyes and smiled. “Yes...my prince…”

Yuto smiled at the response as a black dragon tail wrapped around Shun’s legs lovingly. Shun shivered in delight as Yuto ran his claws through teal hair. “I have you here in my arms, and you will never ever leave me again. You are mine forever, Shun. Mineminemineminemine…”

“I love you, my prince, I can never repay you, yes I’m yours, always yours.” Shun sighed.

“And when Ruri returns, she’ll also GAH!!”

Yuto gasped as a sudden rush of emotions flooded his body. His back arched, eyes shut as he gasped and took a deep breath. His scales and tail seemed to glow with a faint violet light that made Shun whimper. It made Yuto look so beautiful...

“My prince?!” Shun gasped. “Are you all right?”

Yuto panted for a few seconds as a large smile formed on his face and a tear fell down his eye. “Father is...Father is _ pleased. _“

“Pleased? With what?”

Yuto turned to Shun before attacking his lips and ravishing him happily, sending thoughts of joy and glee at feeling his Father’s own elation. 

Shun caught his breath, somewhat confused with Yuto’s emotions. “M-my prince?” 

Yuto was beaming at Shun and caressed his face all while stating with a shaky breath, “Ruri! Ruri’s safe, Shun, she’s safe, Yuri was able to give the bracelet to her!”

“Ruri…” Shun gasped. “Ruri!” Shun hugged Yuto to him, a few tears of happiness and relief falling down his cheek. 

“Father has placed a blessing in the bracelet Yuri gave her, so she is aware of what Professor Akaba wants to do with her, about Dennis’s role in the invasion, about...us too.”

At that, Shun blushed. He knew that Ruri was okay with his feelings towards Yuto, but the thought of proclaiming himself as a ‘treasure’ never crossed his mind. 

“I wonder if my brothers are sensing this too,” Yuto said, a wide grin on his face. “Ruri, Rin...Serena...they have now felt Father’s darkness in their souls…They’ll be completely Father’s soon enough,” Yuto grinned before burying his face in Shun’s chest, nuzzling and purring to him. 

“I’m sure they are,” Shun sighed, closing his eyes. “I can’t wait to see Ruri again...I miss her.”

“I miss her too,” Yuto replied. “But Father promises that we will reunite once more.”

“Reunite…” Shun repeated, slowly falling asleep. He would have to thank Yuri when they met. Thank him for making sure Ruri would be safe from the likes of Academia.

Until then, all he wanted to do was sleep a little longer with his prince by his side...

And how he’d have to figure out what to do about getting some new clothes to wear.

Yuto gave him a loving peck on his lips before resting his head back on his chest. “I’ll get you something to wear, don’t worry, just rest now. I’ve tired you, didn’t I my precious?” He placed a loving kiss to Shun’s chest, and Shun hugged his beloved prince closer. 

“As long as I get to be with you, I don’t mind,” Shun sighed. 

“Rest now,” Yuto whispered. “Everything is going to be okay.”

And Shun did just that, dreaming of reuniting with his sister in a beautiful garden, smiles on their faces as they promised that nothing would ever separate them again.

**************

Yuya woke up snuggling to Yugo who was still fast asleep. He was having quite the heady feeling as he woke up, happy, relieved, excited. He was getting a big echo of emotions from Yuto, but he’d figure out what it was later. He stretched like a cat, his mouth open into a silent yawn before giving his sleeping brother a kiss, standing up out of his nest and changing his clothes. He headed downstairs and saw his mother pinned against the wall by three men with biker helmets.

Wait, WHAT?! 

Yoko was surrounded, gritting her teeth as she weighed her options. Just as she was about to move, the tallest biker in the dark blue coat grabbed her neck. “Just stay still and no one gets hurt,” he said with a growl. 

“MOM!” Yuya gasped, seeing his mother trapped. He snarled, eyes turned to slits for a split second as he shouted, “GET AWAY FROM HER!”

Yoko looked up. “Yuya, no! Stay away! They’re -- ”

“Fight me!” Yuya growled, eyes glowing red as he raced down the stairs and charged towards the assailants. But before he could reach them…

He suddenly collapsed onto the floor.

Yoko and the three bikers stared at Yuya on the floor, waiting for him to say something. His body was spasming and he was clutching his heart, seemingly in pain.

“...Yuya?” one of the bikers who wore a long black coat with multiple grey belts questioned. 

“YUYA!” Yoko screamed pushing past the biker and kneeling by Yuya’s side before grabbing his shoulders, seeing Yuya gasp and shiver on the ground. She grit her teeth. “Zarc! what the hell are you doing now?!” She yelled in Yuya’s face, stopping herself from shaking the boy, or rather the Dragon King whom she thought has already taken Yuya’s body. Yuya looked up, his face flushed red for a moment, panting slightly.

“It’s fine…” Yuya said. “I’ll be okay, mom.”

“Yoko? What the hell just happened?” the biker with the dark blue coat asked.

“Yuya kinda seemed possessed for a moment, and who is this ‘Zarc’ you were yelling at?” The short biker in red asked, having a hint of a Cockney accent.

Yoko sighed. “First off, helmets off. Now. And Yuya, saying that you’re okay while you have a demon possessing you is not okay! That is _ never _ okay!”

  
“Sheesh,” the short biker in red commented, removing his helmet, causing his light brown hair to rise up like a bonfire. “Hope we never give up our souls to some demon lord.”

“Mom,” Yuya whined. “Stop calling him that. Father’s _ not _a demon and you know it,” he tilted his head up to look at the three bikers raising an eyebrow, they looked quite familiar. Aside from the one with spiky brown hair and blue eyes, there was one with the black coat had short red hair and grey eyes and the one who grabbed Yoko’s neck had blond hair that rose up along with a set of blue-grey eyes. 

Yuya heard Father chuckle slightly in the back of his head, confused. Why were these bikers attacking Yoko and why did he know them? 

“Dark spirit that possesses you, has golden eyes, can take over your body whenever he wants, has control of the shadows, is _ very _possessive of you…” Yoko counted on her fingers.

“Still not a demon.” Yuya countered. “And mom...why are these bikers in our house and why were they trying to attack you?”

“Don’t change the subject, Yuya. What did Zarc do to you this time? “

“Oh, he didn’t mean to, mom. Really, it’s more a combination of his and Yuto’s emotions just...hitting me full force.” 

“That’s not helping,” Yoko sighed. She then turned to the bikers looking in confusion. “Oh don’t look at Yuya like that. Why don’t you introduce yourselves?”

Yuya tilted his head in confusion at the three faces. Yoko just decided to go to the kitchen and make coffee. Ugh, she honestly didn’t need this so early in the morning.

“Oh you don’t remember us Yuya?” The one with brown spikey hair asked, hands on his hips, and a smile on his face. “I mean... I know it’s been a few years but…”

“Valon, don’t tease him,” the one with blond hair said cutting the first one off with a slap to the chest. The tall biker then helped Yuya stand up. “You honestly don’t remember us, Yuya?”

“Uh...am I...supposed to?” Yuya questioned.

“Well, we did used to babysit you back in the day,” the last one with red hair explained. “We’d pick you up from school on our motorcycles and buy you ice cream topped pancakes. Or that time we tried to introduce ourselves to Yuzu and she started screaming and beating us up with her _ harisen _…”

A spark of memory came before Yuya actually remembered the three of them. 

“Raphael! Alister! Valon!” Yuya shouted. “Oh my gosh, has it really been that long?!”

The three of them laughed before Raphael ruffled Yuya’s hair. “Can’t believe all it takes to forget us is 5 years.” Yuya looked sheepishly at the three. 

“Sooo…” Valon started. “What’s this whole thing about demon possession? Did you sell your soul to a demon while we weren’t around or something?”

“Father is not a demon!” Yuya exclaimed. “He’s...well...he’s…uh… mom just keeps calling him that because of all the horror movies she’s an expert on,”

“Most demons have gold eyes in the movies, Yuya,” Yoko called from the kitchen. 

“That’s his natural eye color, mom.” 

“Father?” Alister repeated. “_ Yusho _ is currently possessing you?!”

“No, not _ that _ Father,” Yuya chuckled, rising to his knees.

“Not...Yusho?” Raphael asked.

“Uh, Yuya are you sure you didn’t crack your head open when you fell?” asked Valon, tilting his head as he placed his hand on Yuya’s forehead. “What do you mean by ‘not that Father’? Unless...you’re someone’s love child and all.”

“Please tell us that this ‘Demon Father’ in you doesn’t like hopping into other bodies…” said Alistair. “I kinda like mine and I rather not let it do some...unsavory business.”

“Trust me,” Yuya chuckled. “Father told me that you guys did _ plenty _ of bad things in your past lives. And no, he can only possess me.”

Yoko raised an eyebrow as she set four mugs of coffee onto the table, along with a mug of hot cocoa for Yuya. This was the first time Yuya/Zarc mentioned people acting differently in their ‘past life’. “Yuya...what is ‘he’ talking about?”

“It’s a long story, mom. Before Ray came and all…” Yuya answered.

Yoko folded her arms. “Well, I’m not going to be out for a while.”

“No really, what they did back then was kinda terrible.”

“And what exactly did they do that was so terrible compared to them coming to babysit you once in a while?” Yoko questioned, not wanting to know the truth yet somewhat curious.

“Hmm…” Yuya sighed, placing his goggles over his eyes in concentration. “Father won't tell me much, just something about souls... and a card with a green star and some glowing green stone, and .... maybe I shouldn’t continue. Point is, these three ended up much better in this world than the original.”

“_ Original _?” Alister asked.

Yoko raised her eyebrow; that’s right, none of them knew that they only lived in one dimension out of four. There was an awkward pause before she sighed and motioned for everyone to join her at the dining room. “...You know what? Maybe we should do this another day .”

“No, no, I wanna know more about this ‘original world’ Yuya is talking about,” said Valon, seating himself down. Alister sat to his right and was already sipping his coffee. “After all, we all saw that ‘Lancers’ announcement about soldiers from ‘another dimension’ invading and turning people into cards. Something about that...I dunno, but…”

“Yoko-san,” said Raphael, seating himself down. “When you called me last night, we had just gotten a...shared dream perhaps?”

Yoko blinked. Shared dream? Oh no…

“I remember that I had a card with a glowing green seal in my hand,” Raphael began. “But I didn’t play it; I used Exchange to hand it to my opponent, and he played it instead. He lost though, his soul was taken and I took the card.”

Yuya raised an eyebrow before he pulled his goggles onto the top of his head and asked, “Guys, can I give you some advice?”

“What’s that?” asked Alister.

“...Never meet Yuto,” Yuya said in a deadpan voice. “Seriously don’t.” 

“Yuto?” Valon repeated.

“Yeah, Yuto,” said Yoko. “And Shun. Their dimension was taken over by those soldiers and they carded people down like it was a game. If they found out that you ‘originally’ sealed people’s souls into cards then they’ll...go berserk.”

“Are _ they _ possessed by demons too?” asked Valon.

“FATHER IS NOT A DEMON! STOP CALLING HIM THAT!” Yuya roared, causing Valon to jump in alarm.

. 

“Okay, okay we’re sorry!” Valon exclaimed. “So are Yuto and Shun possessed by ‘dark Fatherly spirits’ then?” 

“Not like me, but Yuto is affected by Father just as much as I am. And Yuto doesn’t need Father’s powers; he would just throw you guys to the shadows.” 

There was an awkward silence as everyone stared at Yuya calmly stating this as if he was asked to explain what he did at school.

“Throw people into shadows?” Yoko exclaimed before scratching her head. “It’s like you boys have a new power every five minutes. I can’t keep up and I’m pretty sure I asked for a list already. Besides how bad are these ‘shadows’ anyway?” 

“These shadows will drag you into a prison known as the ‘Shadow Realm’,” Yuya began, voice low and hissing. “People who enter it never come back alive. The shadows slowly devour one’s soul, wear down one’s sanity, feed on one’s despair…It is the home of all sorts of monsters and terrors and one wrong move can lead you to your death or something even worse.”

“Is Zarc the ruler of the place?” Yoko asked. Dark realms usually have either one ruler with a bureaucracy or it’s a divided kingdom struggling to see who would rule it.

“He’s the current ruler of the Shadow Realm.” Yuya clarified. “The Shadows are part of his domain but whoever rules the Shadow realm depends on who has the biggest control over the Darkness. A lot of people have access to the Darkness and can use it to their will, so there is never one ruler all the time. Even the manifestation of Darkness itself might not rule the place for long. Father’s title is of the Supreme Dragon King -- he has his own domain over duel spirits, but there are others who rival him in power. Like a human Supreme King for example --” 

“Wait, there’s a _ human _ who has the title of a Supreme King that also rules over darkness?” Yoko repeated. That could only mean one thing...somewhere the demon in human form who was roaming the world and was having fun corrupting people as he sees fit!

(If Zarc could read her thoughts about _ Jaden Yuki, _ he would be falling on the ground rolling and dying of laughter. Yoko watched way too many horror movies!)

Yuya nodded. “Father said he’s one of the only people who fully remembers the old world.” 

“And where is this _ Human _Supreme king now? And what is he doing?” 

“He’s currently…” Yuya froze before his eyes flicker gold. He shook his head. “No...Father is telling me not to reveal it just yet.”

“Is he serious?” Yoko said rolling her eyes. “Or are you trying to spare me from getting a heart attack this early in the morning?”

“Father says that the…human Supreme King is complicated,” Yuya explained. “And he wants to leave it at that.”

“Okay, Yuya…” said Valon, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow. “I’m getting eerie vibes that the separation from Yusho caused you to start going _ Bridge to Terabithia _ on us…or worse, _ Pan’s Labyrinth _. Because while we know that you have such a vivid imagination, this is...a bit too...much.”

“You think _ that’s _ too much?” Yoko asked, glaring at Valon. Valon gulped; Yoko’s glare was one of the very few things that could make him freeze in terror. “Try the fact that Yuya has three counterparts with his same face, the fact that they all can transform into dragons, or how Zarc, the Father that is currently hosted inside Yuya’s soul, was apparently making Yuya go through epilepsy a few minutes ago!” 

Yuya chuckled, his eyes lighting up until they sparkled like gold. “I’d never put my sons into any type of painful situations, Yoko-san. Things went extremely right and Yuya just received feedback of happiness from me and Yuto.”

“Feedback of _ happiness _made him fall to the ground?” Yoko asked, knowing exactly who she was speaking to.

“Exactly.”

The bikers turned and noticed Yuya’s eyes changed color. Then they gasped as Raphael pulled out a knife hidden his boot to protect himself.

Yoko, however , was rolling her eyes. “And what the hell could have gone so right that _ your _ happiness actually knocked Yuya to the ground?”

“My precious lily met up with Rin and Ruri,” “Yuya” answered. “And both accepted the help I offered them.” 

“Um....what?” Raphael asked.

“Yoko, should we get an exorcist or something?” Valon questioned, worried for Yuya’s sanity.

Yoko narrowed her eyes as she took a sip of her very bitter coffee. “No, that’s just Zarc. And if getting rid of him was as easy as getting an exorcist we wouldn’t be in this situation right now.”

Zarc smirked before he used Yuya‘s illusion powers to transform himself into his original form. “Good morning to you too, Shooting Star Yoko.” 

“H - hey! What did you do to Yuya?” asked Alister. “And why are you allowed Yoko-san by that name?!”

“Oh, my Yuya's just fine,” said Zarc. “And let's just say Yoko-san and I are...co-parents I suppose.”

Alister blinked, grey eyes looking at Zarc as if he’s waiting for this...guy...to state that he was joking. “Co-parents? What happened to Yusho?”

“He disappeared for 3 years on a fool's errand,” Zarc said plainly.

“Tasked by Reiji to stop his daddy from turning people into cards and offering innocent maidens,” Yoko added.

“And utterly failed,” Zarc finished.

Raphae stared at how Yoko and Zarc explained the situation before shaking his head. “I'm sorry, start from the beginning. Reiji Akaba asked Yusho to stop Leo Akaba from what?

“Long story,” Zarc answered. “But what I want to know is why are you three here? And why were you ganging up on Yoko?”

“They're here because I wanted to them to do something for me...or rather for Yugo,” Yoko answered “Who I have no idea when he’ll be waking up.”

“My Crystal?” Zarc asked with a tilt of his head. “Why? And don’t worry about it, I can keep him asleep for a while longer.”

“Yugo hasn't had a chance to really experience an Action Duel since arriving here,” Yoko explained. “All he's been doing is chauffeuring his brothers around. I mean, I'd duel him myself but my skills with my deck are...limited.

She then turned to Raphael, Alister and Valon, giving them a beaming smile. “That's where these guys come in. Before Yuya arrived at my doorstep, I was helping out in foster homes, making sure these kids didn't go down the path I did.”

“Okay am I the only one concerned for these names like _ Yu _ to and _ Yu _go?” asked Valon. “Also what does Yugo look like? And when did you get new kids, Yoko-san?

“Just recently,” Yoko answered. “Yuto and Yugo are two of those three counterparts of Yuya.”

“Yugo looks like this by the way,” Zarc added before he shifted into Yugo’s image, wearing Yugo’s white riding suit and running a hand through Yugo’s blond bangs.

“What?” Alister gasped, taking a better look of Yugo’s blond bangs and blue hair and his crystal blue eyes. “He looks just like Yuya?!”

“Oh, he's not the only one,” Yoko replied as Zarc swiftly transformed from Yugo to Yuto to Yuri and then back to Zarc.

“Yoko...have you REALLY considered an exorcist?” Raphael asked.

Yoko shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t tried and I highly doubt it would work anyhow.”

“Yoko, how long has this been happening?” Valon asked.

Yoko tilted her head. “I'd say...a few days. Apparently Zarc isn’t a demon. He's just a soul trapped in the four boys' bodies. Also he can only possess Yuya…” 

“Yoko, why are you not showing concern about what this person is saying?!” Alister exclaimed.

Yoko sighed as she took another sip of coffee. “Trust me, I'm still adjusting to most things. Anything else before we execute the plan?

“I'm quite interested to see how these...bikers are going to make Yugo duel,” Zarc commented, staring at the three. He could hardly believe his eyes when he saw them about to attack Yoko. Seems like Fate was a mysterious lady.

“Seriously Yoko,” said Raphael and added through gritted teeth, “_ Get an exorcist. _”

“Exorcists work on demons, not apparently who knows how old Supreme Dragon Kings,” Yoko sighed.

“Aren't you the least concerned?!” Valon asked. “Possession like this always lead to BAD THINGS.”

“Oh I know that it will not end well. I'm just dealing with it the best I can. He -- “ Yoko pointed to Zarc. “Can easily snap my neck and I'm pretty sure the only reason he doesn't is because it would upset the boys.”

“So….” Raphael questioned, addressing an elephant in the room. “Does this mean Zarc...likes you?”

“Likes her?” Zarc chuckled “You can see she has...caught my respect and intresnt.”

Yoko shook her head once more. “I still need a talk with you about Yuto and Shun ya know.”

Zarc sighed, recalling the hurt look on Yuri’s face after Shun’s beatdown on him. “Shun...brutally pummeled Yuri. The boy wasn't happy to see the person who kidnapped his sister right in front of his eyes looking like what transpired wasn’t personal or serious.”

“Knowing you, I'm surprised Shun is even alive. But that's not what I'm talking about and you know it. I talked with Yuto yesterday but you need to give me an explanation and you are being very blunt about the boys' actions.”

Zarc sighed, placing his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together. “Very well. Shun's assault nearly made Yuri brake down, and assaulting a member of the royal family is equal to execution. It is only through Yuto begging me to spare him that Shun's head is currently not on a pike.”

“...At least this means Shun has some free well left. As much as I hate what Shun did, it's understandable.”

“Some free will...This Shun boy has been brainwashed?” Raphael exclaimed. “And you're okay with that?!”

Yoko clamped a hand over Raphael’s mouth and placed a finger to her lips. “Shh...you'll wake Yugo up! And of course I'm not okay with this. I just wanna know if there's a way to undo it….Or if Yuto would fucking let me.”

“Doubt it,” Zarc piped in. “Once a dragon finds a treasure they want, it's theirs forever”

Yoko looked in disbelief. “...well, shit. Couldn't Yuto have kept Shun without the brainwashing? Actually, after all I've seen you do. couldn't _ you _tell him to remove the brainwashing?”

“I could, but Yuto insists.” Zarc answered. “Think about it Yoko, wouldn't you do anything to keep those close to you?”

“You spoil them too much, I swear.” Yoko muttered. “And I wouldn't mind control my loved ones; I just don't like the idea of Shun being a love-sick puppy to Yuto.”

“ It is what it is. It's not like Yuto _ ordered _him to act that way; he just ordered Shun to be his, and be his treasure.”

“That's like turning him into a slave!”

“If he was, he wouldn't have attacked Yuri. And my point is, Shun is acting like a love struck puppy because that’s the way he wants to act,” Zarc countered. “And let's just say past life experience coupled with new life and his true nature made Yuto make that decision.”

Yoko gulped. “...so Yuto made people his slaves in the past?”

Zarc shook his head. “No. Humans hurt this family too often in the past. Back when he got his memories it was hard to think clearly on what to do to keep Shun.”

“I guess I can't blame him given what he’s gone through…” Yoko narrowed her eyes. “But you have to promise Yuto not to do it again.”

Zarc tilted his head, recalling a few of the memories Yuto had in regards to his life in Heartland after the initial attack, the concern for his friends and the fear of losing everyone to the likes Obelisk Force. “I... can't promise a thing. I really don't know if he'll desire another treasure other than Shun and Ruri.”

“Ugh…” Yoko groaned. Zarc just smiled in return.

“Anything else I can enlighten you with, Yo~ko~san?” he purred.

“Just something out of the blue but…” Yoko leaned forward. “Who is the most destructive of your sons?”

Zarc blinked, slowly surprised at Yoko’s question before smiling. “Yuya, of course!” he chuckled. “He’s capable of unleashing fire that is impossible to put out.”

“That’s...disconcerting, but it’s not what I meant. I don't mean the most destructive I understand he has fire, I mean the most capable of doing something dangerous…”

“Oh no Yoko- san, I understand. Yuya _ is _ the most _ dangerous _ of them all.”

“How bad can Yuya get?” asked Valon. “I mean, sure he likes to perform and goof around but he’s not a killer...right?”

“How bad could _ Yuya _ get?” Zarc grinned, eyes glowing. “Oh, how about I tell you all a funny story? Once upon a time, a carnival came to town but I told my sons not to go near it. My sons were always obedient so they promised not to. Instead, Yuto and Yuya would work on a shadow puppet show. However, the two had some ‘creative differences’ in regards to what the theater should look like...” 


	13. Chapter 8  (Part 2): Wide Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Pt 2 of Chapter 8 is up and about!
> 
> GPQ: This one was also fun to write too, and will be the latest chapter until I return from holiday. Until then, happy holidays wherever you are and thanks for all the kudos/comments.
> 
> (PS: A great Christmas gift for Azure and I is if anyone has fanart that they can send us links to. Thanks!)  
(PPS: Shingo's boastful attitude is fun to write)  
(Edit: from Azure_Witch13 I don't celebrate Christmas and I don't have any holidays in December but I do wish all of you Happy Holidays.) 
> 
> Warnings: Yuto and Shun (this is gonna be common from now on) mind control, Rin (She comes with her own warnings)

_ In their playroom, Yuto and Yuya glared at one another. A traveling carnival arrived a few days ago, and despite how much the four boys has asked requested and begged their father refused to let them go. “It’s too dangerous,” he said. “Humans would come and snatch you up and take you away from me." _

_ Father had been more protective lately, he always was but recently he seemed just a bit… scared. The four boys knew about humans who hunted his father's subjects, but sometimes they would dismiss them as rumors, amd father refused to confirm anything yet. _

_ So the boys had to entertain themselves in the castle, and that wasn't too difficult. Yuya loved to put on a show for his father and brothers, sometimes Father would help too. There was also the garden that Yuri tended to, and parts of the forest that were deemed safe as long as one or more of their teachers was around. _

_ There were plenty of books in the library for them to read, and sometimes the magicians in Father’s council would tell them stories or show off a bit of their magic. They had plenty of toys and they all loved making cute little doodles too. But sometimes, the boys just wanted to go outside and see what wonders were out there. _

_ It was during this time when they read a book about a traveling night circus that Yuto and Yuya wanted to make a puppet show for their family after dinner. However, the two brothers were having an argument on what the theater should look like. _

_ “I don't want any color on the theater, I want it all black and white,” said Yuto. _

_ “It looks so boring though!” Yuya complained. “What's wrong with a little color?” _

_ “It’s not boring! I like it in black and white! It’s my theater after all.” _

_ “Why does it all have to be black though? And besides, we're both doing this for everyone! _

_ “But whenever we do shows like this, it's always what _ you _ want. I want to decide what to do for a change. I wanna do this, and I want it this way!” _

_ “You're no fun!” Yuya complained. “All of the stories take place at night and have the same things: haunted castles and ghosts and spooky things. There are no lights, no fun, no performances at all! _

_ “Because they’re not supposed to be happy, it's supposed to be spooky!” Yuto pointed out. _

_ “It’s boring!” Yuya said, pointing his staff at the theater...and summoning a fireball that ignited it. Yuto’s eyes looked in alarm as he began to cover the theater with a blanket and pat it down with a few stomps. _

_ “How could you?!” Yuto exclaimed. “I worked hard on that theater! _

_ “ I...I... I didn't mean to!” Yuya exclaimed. “I’m sorry Yu--” _

_ "I hate you Yuya!” Yuto screamed. “I hate you! Go away! Leave me alone!" _

_ Tears filled Yuya’s eyes before he yelled, “FINE!” and ran back to his bedroom. _

_ Yuto stared at Yuya running away before returning to patting the flames and salvaging what was left of his theater. Fine, he didn’t need Yuya to perform. He could do it all on his own! _

_ But back in his bedroom, Yuya sobbed into a pillow, tears staining his bright red eyes. It wasn’t fair! It was an honest accident and now Yuto didn’t like him anymore! _

_ He wanted to go talk to Father or Yuri and Yugo, but Father was at an important meeting and his brothers were working on their _ own _ production for tonight’s dinner. Yuya sobbed...there was no time to make a production all by himself! _

_ As he wiped the tears away from his eyes, Yuya heard faint calliope music drift into the room. He looked up and approached the window. Outside the castle grounds, the carnival was in full swing. It was filled with beautiful lights and music and people running about with balloons in hand. There was even a large circus tent with candy-cane stripes and multiple flags flying in the sky. _

_ “I wanna go there... “ Yuya sighed. “But papa might get mad.... But it's no fun here!” _

_ He paused for a minute or two before his eyes lit up. “...I can go visit for a while then come back. No one will know if I left for an hour.” _

_ With that in mind, Yuya dressed himself in his finest crimson cloak that hid his face and hair, along with a matching crimson eye mask with gold glitter that he made for himself. Of course, he still had his dragon horns, tail and wings out, but no one would ever believe he was a dragon prince from the get up. _

_ He giggled as he used his illusion magic to hide himself from anyone who would notice him. Yuya was the best when it came to illusions; Papa said that with enough practice, Yuya would be able to make strong illusions that rivaled his magicians! _

_ With that in mind, Yuya easily slipped through the shadows, evaded the guards and raced outside the front gardens, out of the woods and into the carnival itself. _

_ The carnival was beautiful just as he imagined it; bright lights, rides, smells of popcorn and cotton candy filled the air, all of it in bright colors, unlike Yuto's black and white. _

_ Yuya squealed, happy at seeing the carnival close up and excitedly rushed inside to see it all. _

_ The people running the booths were smiling, handing out food and toys and performing magic tricks for the audience...but something is off about their smiles. Everyone dressed up fancy with masks covering their faces, Yuya blended in quite well, but something was...off. Yuya couldn’t figure it out, but he wasn’t there to think about it. He wanted to have as much fun as he could before anyone noticed he was gone. _

_ Yuya looked around at the attractions, the Ferris wheel, the games, animals in cages for show. He was confused as to why people were gathering around creatures like that, the sign said that they were magical and creatures of legends but all Yuya could see were poor _ normal _ animals stuck in the cages _

_ “Look, a real live dragon!” said a little girl with pink hair next to him. _

_ Yuya tilted his head at the dragon the little girl pointed out, only to find it was really a lizard with wings taped onto its side. “That's not...a real dragon…” he muttered. _

_ Yuya approached the other animals: the unicorn, the harpy, the manticore...all of them were just plain old animals with glowing auras that said illusion magic was at work. Why would a carnival do something like this in the first place? _

_ “Hello little boy, what's wrong?” the man asked having heard the boy mutter that it was not an actual dragon before this as if he saw what was truly behind the illusion easily. _

_ Yuya turned around and looked up to see a man dressed in a bright red coat, black breeches and a top hat on top of raven black hair looking down at him. This was the ringleader of the circus, the boy thought, recalling the pictures of them in his books. _

_ Yuya frowned at the ringleader and then pointed to the cages. “It’s the animals…” he said. _

_ The ringleader raised an eyebrow. “Amazing, aren't they?" He asked testing the waters, wanting to see how strong this boy’s magic was. “All these magical creatures, even spirits of the monsters of the Dragon King _

_ Yuya’s eyes widened at that last part. Spirits of...spirits of Father's… _

_ Yuya remembered hearing the magicians being worried about spirits being captured. Even though he was more interested in performing, Yuya and his brothers were always learning of affairs in their Father's kingdom. They had to know this so that they could rule the kingdom in Father’s steed one day. _

_ No wonder Father was nervous lately; the carnival was kidnapping spirits for its own use! _

_ Yuya looked around mostly sees normal animals. He could sense the illusion magic on them; it was his own speciality after all. But there was one spirit, which his eyes zeroed on immediately and the man noticed. _

_ “I see you're interested in what I acquired,” The ringleader chuckled. “Now...what do you see?” _

_ Yuya gulped at what he saw. Inside the cage was a little fairy in a blue dress and purple hair resting on a bright pink flower, tears falling down her eyes. If he recalled the picture of her that he once saw on Father’s desk, it was called “Bloom Diva”. _

_ “That’s right,” the Ringleader said with a sigh. “I captured her a while ago, and I hear that she is from a tribe of fairies known for their love of music. I heard that they sing so sweetly, have you?” _

_ "Yeah... They're pretty.... Amazing," Yuya said nervously and went closer to Bloom Diva's cage looking sadly at her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered gently _

_ Bloom Diva looked up and saw Yuya’s crimson eyes. She could sense powerful magic within him, along with a soul of kindness and warmth. Her eyes widened in surprise and she was about to say something, but Yuya hastily placed a finger on his lips. Bloom Diva nodded her head in understanding. _

** _“_ ** _ Ah, I see you have a thing for beauty,” the Ringmaster chuckled. “Only problem is that she hasn't been singing lately. But she's taken a liking to you. Perhaps you can help her sing once more?” _

_ Yuya offered her his hand. "it's okay," he told her. “I promise” _ _   
  
_

_ Bloom Diva wiped the tears down the sides of her face as a tiny smile formed on her lips. She took his hand into his and she began to light up like the carnival lights. _

_ "It's decided then!" The Ringmaster exclaimed and patted Yuya's shoulder as he pushed him into to a trailer by the tents. Yuya followed him, unaware of the carnival workers sharing a glance at the ringmaster and their smiles turned twisted and malicious at the thought of obtaining a new spectacle in this little boy who could see through their illusions. _

_ But Yuya didn’t notice these stares. He couldn’t contain his excitement. He was going to perform for a real audience! Not tell a story with Yuto’s shadow puppets, but people applauding as he juggled and danced and twirled fire batons without a care in the world! He could feel his cheeks hurting at the grin on his face but he didn’t care! _

_ The two eventually made it into a small trailer that looked like it could accommodate someone as grand as the ringleader. There was a bed, two small chairs, even a table set for two with tea, and scones with clotted cream and jam. There was beautiful calliope music inside too, causing Yuya to smile happily. The music was making him drowsy…and he giggled at how much fun he was having! _

_ “Now,” The ringmaster whispered into Yuya’s ear, a glint in his eyes. He placed his hands on Yuya’s shoulders as he smirked. “What else are you capable of?” _

_ … _

_ … _

_ ... _

_ Back in the playroom Yuto finished repairing the theater as best as he could. Thankfully he had a drawing of what he wanted and was really good at cutting out the silhouettes with scissors. But even after assembling everything and using leftover wooden planks, he frowned. Something was missing. Sure, it looked really nice when you put a candle behind it and the paper glowed with shadows to make it a true shadow puppet theater...but still... _

_ “Maybe I should talk with Yuya,” Yuto said, sitting on the floor, arms folded over his chest. The memory of Yuya burning down his original theater popped into his mind before he pouted. “But I don’t wanna…” _

_ He was still sitting on the floor and debating on whether or not he should talk to Yuya when Yugo entered, panting for breath. _

_ “Yuto, have you seen Yuya?” Yugo asked. “It's almost dinner time.” _

_ “We got into a fight and he ran,” Yuto answered, turning around. _

_ “He hasn't been seen in a long time! Yuri and I searched everywhere for him!” _

_ Yuto frowned. “He deserved it for ruining my theater” _

_ “But where is he? Aren't you worried?” Yugo asked. Something must be wrong for Yuto to act like this. Yuto was the most protective of their little brother after all. _

_ Yuto looked away. “If he wants to have bright colored stuff then I don't wanna work with him anymore! I like my shadows! I like darkness! _ _   
  
_

_ “And Yuya likes bright things but please Yuto!” Yugo begged. “Would you just help us look for him?” _

_ “No!” Yuto shouted. _

_ Zarc, approaching the playroom, tilted his head. “What's going on?” he asked. It was rare for his sons to be fighting. _ _   
  
_

_ “I don't wanna talk to Yuya after he burned my puppet theater,” Yuto explained. _

_ “Yuya's gone missing, Papa!” Yugo exclaimed, starting to tear up. “Yuri and I looked everywhere...but we can’t find him!” _

_ Zarc tilted his head as he lifted Yugo into his arms. Despite Yugo being around eight years old, Zarc could easily carry the boy as if he was a feather-stuffed pillow. “Missing?” he questioned, running a hand through Yugo’s blond bangs. “Are you sure he's not in his room or hiding under the bed? Or using his illusion powers to play hide-and-seek?” _

_ “We checked already!” Yugo repeated. “He’s not in the castle at all!” _

_ The dragon father looked at Yuto, also wondering why Yuto wasn’t concerned over his beloved little brother’s safety "Yuya's missing, and you'd rather stay angry at him than worried Yuto?" Father asked with one hand on his hip the other hugging Yugo to him. _

_ ".... If he wants his bright shiny carnival he should just go and live in one!" Yuto yelled before immediately feeling both guilty and ashamed, Yuya's missing and he'd just yelled at father too. What was wrong with him? _

_ Father had a small frown on his face before kneeling in front of Yuto, and putting a hand under Yuto’s chin. "But without light, the shadows cannot exist. The darkness is their home, but it's only when there is light can they be revealed," he caressed Yuri's cheek gently. "This is your brother, Yuto, he should be more important to you than anything else. Now I know you're angry, but how would you feel if you never saw Yuya ever again?" _

_ Yuto looked down, remembering the times he and Yuya were together. How they made a tent on their bed and wit a flashlight, made shadows dance. How Yuya would give Yuto some extra candy to cheer him up. That time Yuya decided to snuggle up with Yuto when he got sick. _

_ “I...I would be...sad...and hurt…” Yuto admitted. “I… love his smile, at how he always tries to cheer me up...How he stayed with me when I got lost that night in the woods.” Tears formed in his eyes. “I love it when we stay together in the same bed at night playing and hugging until we fall asleep…” _

_ Zarc ran his claws through Yuto's hair soothingly, giving him a soft smile. _

_ “I...I'm so sorry I got mad at Yuya…” Yuto apologized. _

_ Zarc pressed a kiss onto Yuto’s hair. “You're allowed to be mad Yuto. “But you should never let how you feel cloud your judgment on what's truly important.” _

_ Yuto sniffled, grey eyes brimming with tears. “We...we have to find Yuya, but we don't know where he went! What do we do, Papa?! What if Yuya is gone forever?!” _

_ “Papa!” Yuri yelled, running into the playroom, pink eyes wide with horror as he shouted, “The carnival! _ _   
  
_

_ Zarc turned to his eldest boy and sighed. “No, Yuri, you're not allowed to -- “ His eyes widen as it dawns on him where Yuya went. “The carnival…” _ _   
  
_

_ “It's on fire!” Yuri shouted, recalling how he smelled smoke and looked up to hear people screaming. He asked to fly onto the top of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon to have a better look-see and gasped when he saw the carnival set alight. People were screaming and animals roared and he couldn’t tell if Yuya was there or not. _

  
  


_ Zarc's eyes widen and he stopped himself from bursting into laughter “Come on boys,” he set Yugo down and ushered all three of them out the door. “Let's go collect your baby brother.” _

_ “But...but what if Yuya is hurt?” Yuto asked worriedly. He would never forgive himself if Yuya got hurt because of him. _

_ Zarc kissed Yuto's forehead and smiled. “I can assure you dear, he's just fine, now let's go.” _

_ … _

_ … _

_ ... _

_ It took some time for all four to head towards the destruction of fire. Yuto worried the most _

_ Everything was on fire, the booths, the tents, the games. The fires were in so many colors. Animals scattered around away from the fire. The only one not scared was a monster who watched the carnage with a soft happy relieved smile, as a few tears fell down her face. _

"Oh, Bloom Diva?" _ Zarc thought. He wondered where Bloom Diva went to; the Melodious tribe had been in a flutter trying to find her after she had wandered off to gather flowers for an upcoming festival. _

_ "W...what is this?” Yuto whispered. _

_ "Where's Yuya?!” Yugo asked frantically _

_ “YUYA!!!” Yuri screamed. _

_ Bloom Diva noticed the four of them and curtsied, smiling sweetly “My king, my princes,” she said in a melodic tone. “It is very good to see you. Prince Yuya is inside the tent. Please give him my gratitude! I am eternally grateful for him saving me from my imprisonment from that wicked man.” _

** _”HUUUUH?!” _ ** _ All three boys gasped in shock and surprise. Yuya did what now? _

_ Zarc smiled and bowed back. "We will be glad to tell him that. Now, get going back to your tribe my dear. They are very worried about you." _

_ Bloom Diva smiled and thanked Zarc before flying off but not before singing a happy tune that makes the flowers and dead grass grow _

_ Yuto raced through the carnival yelling and calling Yuya's name. “Yuya? Yuya are you there?! I'm sorry I got mad!” He kept shouting, hoping that his little brother was safe, hoping that Yuya was safe, not injured, not burnt. _

_ "Come on," Zarc told the other two brothers, before going inside looking for Yuya _

_ The four of them heard laughing and praise as they sensed powerful magic. The fires inside were burning brighter than ever, dancing, leaping about, making the shadows look like monsters with raking claws. _

_ Yuya didn't sense his family, he was just laughing and giggling and making the fire turn into pretty shapes of monsters: Chimeras, centaurs, were-tigers, were-hyenas. And dragons; dragons of different colors! _

_ “This is a proper carnival!” Yuya said, turning to a person sitting down in the front. “Isn't that right, Mr. Ringmaster?” _

_ Said Ringmaster was nothing more than a charred corpse at this point. Still, Yuya laughed and clapped happily. _

_ Zarc chuckled and patted Yuya's head. "You had lots of fun, didn't you my star?" _

_ Yuya turned around, smiling widely. "Papa!" he yelled happily, wanting to hug his papa before remembering he disobeyed very clear orders of not coming to the carnival. “Um, I'm sorry for disobeying Papa, but... I did good, right? Bloom Diva and all these poor creatures are safe now...the evil ringmaster won’t capture and kidnap anyone ever again.” _

_ “Why did you go to the carnival in the first place?” Zarc asked. _

_ “I was mad at Yuto over the theater for puppet shows tonight," he said, shuffling his feet, Yuto pouted looking down. “I burnt it by accident and he said he didn’t want to see me again..” _

_ Zarc tilted his head and frowned. “Surely there were other places to go? You could've read a book in the library or talked to the other magicians...I had bought you so many toys and games too. Why leave? Did I not give you enough?” _

_ Yuya pouted and shook his head. “I'm sorry Papa, it really really looked fun. And if I didn't come here, that evil man would've captured more and more spirits! He captured Bloom Diva and made her sad...I had to make her happy somehow” _

_ “By burning _ down the carnival _ ?!” Yuri exclaimed. _

_ Even though Yuri was a bit of a prankster, he learned the hard way to never make Yuya angry...and to remove anything flammable when Yuya was in that mood _

_ “It was the least the bad man deserved,” Yuya explained. “He said it himself that he captured one of Papa's spirits. And he was going to do it to other spirits and children like me too. He was going to sell Bloom Diva to a human! He wanted to take me away too, me and other kids using the carnival and making them forget who they truly were. I wasn't gonna let him do that he had to be punished. The right people had to smile!” _

_ “W...what did you do?” Yugo asked, seeing the fires and the corpse of the ringleader. _

_ "He tried to lull me by using some of his carnival music, but I could already sense his magic the moment we locked eyes. So I decided to give him a wondrous show. But what he didn't know was that the show was in his mind...while I unleashed fire to burn _ **everything down** ** _. _ ** _ All those human buyers screamed in terror!” Yuya laughed clapping happily and gleefully, spinning round and round as flames wrapped around him in a fiery tornado. _

_ Zarc had a grin on his face. His little shooting star was able to handle this mess all by himself! What a smart little baby boy he had. The idiotic ring leader truly thought he could take his Yuya from him. Ha! He was lucky that he only dealt with Yuya; if Zarc knew the man wanted to take all of his sons from him, the ringleader would have wished burning alive was all he got. _

_ “And I freed all those animals too!” Yuya cheered. “They got revenge on those humans for gawking at them! They screamed and begged for mercy! The man thought he can use illusion magic… the dragon prince in his red cloak giggled. “But I showed him... Before I burned everything to the ground and I made my presence known! I am the Dragon Mage with the power over illusions after all! _

_ “And by the time he realized that he was in an illusion, it was too late... His last few moments was him screaming for mercy as he burned away like trees in a forest fire!!!!” Yuya laughed, crimson eyes glowing with a mad grin on his face. _

_ Yuri was shrinking in fear; he once was in that situation when Yuya was so mad that he made the garden burn with his hatred. _

_ Zarc put a hand on Yuri's head to relax him, still having the sadistic satisfied grin on his face. Yuri's shoulder relaxed and leaned back to his father's touch. _

_ “All the animals are happy now and they want to work with me in performing!” Yuya cheered. _ _   
_ _ “They’re gonna be my performing pals!” _

_ Zarc chuckled proud and caressed Yuya's cheek. "You did well. Papa's proud of you, my sweet. Now, stop these fires and let's go home and we can talk about this further." _

_ Yuya leaned into Father's touch, purring at the caress with a proud smile on his face. “Okay Papa!” _

_ His eyes began to glow as he raised his staff into the air. The flames flew into the gem with a whoosh. As the flames disappeared, everyone saw the remains of the tent...and more charred corpses. _

_ Yuto, Yugo and Yuri’s eyes widen. They didn’t want to know who these people were and what they were planning on doing and how these people reacted when Yuya unleashed his full might on them. _

_ Zarc picked Yuya up and kissed his forehead. "Let's go boys." _

_ "Yuya…" Yuto whispered. _

_ Yuya looked at Yuto at Father put him down. "I...I'm sorry I got mad, I never want us to fight again." Yuto apologized. _

_ "It's okay," Yuya told Yuto and hugged him tightly. "I'm really sorry I burned your stage, Yuto. I really didn't mean to." _

_ "We can build it again another," Yuto suggested, hugging Yuya back, nuzzling his neck happily. _

_ "Yeah!" Yuya agreed happily. _

_ "Let's get going! I wanna see the show!" Yugo yelled excitedly. _

_ "Me too!" Yuri yelled. _

_ Zarc chuckled and hugged his sons. The boys giggled and nuzzled their dad back with just as equal affection; they love it whenever he hugged them. _

_ "...Am I gonna be grounded, Papa?" Yuya asked after they released themselves from the hug. _

_ Zarc sighed. “Unfortunately. I did tell you not to go to the carnival after all.” _

_ “What am I going to be punished with?” Yuya questioned. “No dessert? Going to bed early?” _

_ “Well, you will be stuck in the castle for a while,” Zarc answered. _

_ Yuya nodded. "I understand." He didn't seem happy about the idea of being punished but he did disobey Father. _

_ “But on the bright side, that means more time to entertain us with how you defeated the evil ringmaster and saved Bloom Diva. She told us to thank you for freeing her before she left.” _

_ Yuya smiled. “I’m glad I was able to make her smile, Papa. I hope to make other people smile like that too…” _

_ . _

_ He yawned and father picked him up, kissing his forehead. Yuya rested his head against Papa’s chest and fell asleep. He used up a lot of magic today and he hadn’t had dinner yet. _

_ “Let’s go home then,” Zarc whispered, his little ones huddling around him as they walked off. The only sounds that could be heard was faint calliope music drifting away with the wind _

_ … _

_ … _

_ … _

As the story ended and Zarc smiled at the fond memory, everyone else looked in alarm. That was what Yuya did? He _ set someone on fire _?!

“He seriously did all of that?” asked Valon.

“How old was he when that happened?” Raphael questioned.

Zarc tilted his head up and looked at the ceiling before he brought his head forward and answered with a smirk, eyes half laid, “Six.”

“SIX?!” Alister repeated, eyes wide.

“Yuya at age six was drawing animals in circus outfits and wearing Yusho's top hat, pretending to be his dad,” said Yoko, recalling all of the drawings she placed on the refrigerator with magnets and the photos she took of Yuya wearing one of Yusho’s old hats.”

Zarc chuckled. “I was so proud of him!. Apparently, the minute the ringmaster told him to sit down, Yuya began hatching his plan! Yuya is very crafty, so be careful if he asks you to ‘see’ his tricks because he never said anything about seeing them only in your mind!“

“Wait…” said Yoko. “What about the other carnival goers? What did the ringmaster want with Yuya for? Don't tell me; he wanted Yuya's screams? Or his soul? Or brainwash him into doing some of the more dangerous tricks like being eaten by a lion?!

“None of that, Yoko-san,” said Zarc.

Yoko gulped and the bikers were now all ears to the tale. “Then...what did he want?”

Zarc sighed. “Reports from fellow duel monster spirits came to the castle to tell me that the carnival was disguised as a trafficking service, capturing duel spirits to draw in children with magical abilities to be kidnapped, brainwashed and then sold to the more...monstrous human aristocrats.”

Yoko frowned. “That sounds like those Tops Yugo talked about.”

Zarc gritted his teeth. “Oh these were _ worse _ than those who looked down on the poor. These guys wanted pretty little pets to parade around and do their bidding, shackling them with iron cuffs and enchantments from old hags who had no real magic and were jealous of those with the _ real _gift. I was so proud of my little shooting star back then. Alas, that little mischievous side of Yuya’s had to hide, especially the first time we reappeared in this world. So I sealed it away. It comes out every now and then, but it's not unleashed unless I give one single phrase.

“But after being hidden and suppressed for so long, I wonder... How bad did it become?” His sharp fangs were on display as a terrifying grin stretched on his lips. 

“Well...we've never seen it for ourselves…” Raphael answered. In the years he, Alister and Valon babysitted Yuya, not once had Yuya desired to set fire to something, or was ever anything but an adorable angel like child.who liked going to the zoo and reading stories about the circus.

“And the only time I've been called to the principal's office is because he goofs around, or was day dreaming. He never unleashed the wrath of a dragon,” Yoko added. She thought for a moment. “So, even if you are right, and a part like that is around in Yuya, say you ‘unleash’ it and Yuya attacks Sora...what would happen to him?”

Zarc sighed. “I told you it's been suppressed for too long. Normally Sora would've had a fate worse than death if I had anything to say about it. But if I unleash that side…” He smirked. “Well, who knows? But, personally I’m _ dying _ to find out,” the too sharp grin was back and all four people there really wanted it to be gone...like _ right the fuck now. _

“I don't think that's the best way to go…” Yoko said, sipping her coffee. A part of her felt sad about Sora; the kid had no friends, no parents, no idea of what it meant to be raised by someone who loved him. Even if he was going undercover and trying to get in her good graces...she wondered if giving him a place to eat pancakes was enough to give him the kindness and love that he was never given.

“Oh?” Zarc questioned. “Is that so?”

“Sora is…” Yoko bit her lip. “I saw the Sora who came into my house and ate my pancakes, and heard about the Sora who learned what dueling should be about. He...doesn’t deserve to be traumatized by _ that _ side of Yuya.”

“Sora’s innocence and desire to be Yuya’s student was all part of his mask. He's _ very _ good at hiding his true self. He tricked you all. The difference between Yuya’s dark side and Sora’s is that that side is Sora’s true nature, while my Yuya simply has a side that comes out when necessary and needed.”

Yoko shook her head, trying to imagine that he sweet innocent boy could become just as insane and twisted as Sora; making people scream in fear instead of scream in delight. “That's not who Yuya truly is. He can't be. He's sweet and loving and he only wants people to smile. He would never hurt them like that now.

“Oh he is warm and loving, and he wants people to smile,” Zarc agreed. “He always wanted that. But even _ Yuya _has darkness in his soul. You know what fire is like: warm and soothing yet very destructive. There were two sides of Yuya, but you just never saw what my boy can really do.

“I did back when he played Black Mirror Xyz Dragon. He was having fun...yet something was...dark about it…”

Zarc laughed. "But sometimes it's just so _ fun _ to be scared isn't it Yoko-san, you seem to know a lot about that kind of fun," he teased playfully. "And with Black Mirror Xyz DRagon, that was a glimpse at Yuya's other side. It wasn't unleashed; it was simply rearing its head you might say. I saw everything that happened; that foolish Kachidoki and his whole ‘Walk the path of darkness’ he stated, tempting Yuya to give into a more sadistic side of himself. That teacher who put that thought in that fool’s head does not know what _ real _ Darkness is! The shadows are my domain. And my sons have free reign there you see."

Yoko shuddered. The fact that Zarc had a specific _ phrase _ to suppress Yuya’s darkness meant that he had to be put in a trance. It was already bad enough seeing that. “What's the phrase to unleash that side then?”

Zarc snickered. “Oh? You want me to say it allowed while Yuya is still conscious?” he questioned.

Realizing what type of horrors could spread if Yuya did hear this, Yoko shook her head. “No, no I don't!”

What was she thinking? Asking the demon to demonstrate their abilities was never a good idea!

Zarc laughed, amused at the expression on Yoko’s face. But the fact that Zarc mentioned Yuya was conscious made Yoko curious. In any event of someone being possessed, the host body is either unconscious or he’s just watching someone parade around in their own skin, or, in worse case scenarios, they swap bodies.

"How conscious is Yuya in that state?” she asked. “Is it like two personalities combined or does he become a different person who doesn't care for his loved ones like a possessed person. Can _ you _ control him in that state like you easily control the boys? I'm saying this as his mother and I don't want him to become something or do something he'll regret. You have this hold over him, but I don't want you to think that he only needs _ you _ in his life. He has so many people here: Gongenzaka, Shuzo-san, Yuzu, the kids...me…"

“I don't desire to take that from him,” Zarc answered with a snarl. “I don't _ take _ from my precious boys. Unlike that Professor…”

There was a pregnant pause as everyone saw Zarc’s eyes glow gold like fireflies. 

“So...that was Yuya going dangerous…” Yoko noted. “What are the others like?”

“None of them have ever been as mischievous as Yuya,” said Zarc, running a finger across the rim of his mug. “In fact Yuto's possessive and parading streak is new. Yuri simply _ loves _controlling his brothers and they love it when he does it in return. My darling Crystal has never shown much of a dark side, though. The worst he gets is attacking people in retaliation.”

Raphael shivered as he turned to Yoko. “Please tell me we don't have to babysit _ them _.”

Yoko shook her head. “Yuri's gone to another dimension to make sure two girls aren’t going to end up as puppets, Yuto's cuddling with his 'treasure' and Yugo is... well make sure to explain yourselves when he shows off fangs and claws.”

“Like I said, Yugo attacks in retaliation,” Zarc repeated.

Valon sighed. “As long as none of them burn us to death then we'll be fine.”

“Agreed,” said Alister. “Now, why don’t we --”

Suddenly, a loud vibration can be heard. Yoko looked down and pulled out her cellphone from the pocket of her coat and placed it near her ear. “Hello? Yuzu? Where are...at You Show Duel School? Shingo? Why is he...no, don’t tell me...he’s being a pompous jerk? Ugh...yeah, Yuya's coming.”

Yuya groaned as his eyes became crimson and he was no longer using an illusion spell to look like his father. “Huh? Wait what's going on?”

Yoko groaned as she hung up. “You're needed to be 'moral support' for Yuzu going to fight off Shingo. You best go now before she uses that _ harisen _ of hers to demand why you were late to cheer her on.”

Yuya looked in alarm then rushed back to his bedroom to check first on Yugo who was still asleep, all while Yoko sighed and no one else said a word. Seconds later Yuya rushed out the front door shouting, “Gottagonowmomtakecarebyeraphalisterandvalongoodtoseeyouagain!”

After the door slammed shut, loud enough for the animals to wake up and whine for their breakfast, Valon, Raphael and Alister turned to Yoko with very confused looks on their faces.

“Sooo....” said Valon. “Do we start beating the living shit out of you now?”

**************

_ When Yugo came to he was alone in bed, a bed in his room at the castle. He blinked as he figured out what was going on: he was shirtless and only in a pair of white sleeping pants. He stared at the ceiling and tilted his head. This is not like his usual dreams. He was either back in Synchro with a dream version of Rin both of them working on their D-wheel or riding it. Or he was back home with his father and brothers, but he was alone right now and that wasn't usual lately. _

_ "He rose through the streets of the city _

_ Down from his hill on high _

_ O’er the winds and the steps and the cobble _

_ He rode to a woman’s sigh _

_ For she was his secret treasure _

_ She was his shame and bliss _

_ And a chan and a keep are nothing _

_ Compared to a woman’s kiss.” _

_ The Synchro duelist's eyes widened as he heard that very beloved familiar voice. He knew it, knew that song, recalling seeing the person who sung it underneath the light of the full moon in such a way that made him want to proclaim his love for them. _

_ "Rin!" He yelled, sitting up in a second and looking to where the voice had came from to run to his Rinrin and hug her. All thoughts and plans of moving from place disappeared as his eyes widened, his breath hitching mouth falling open as he looked at the enchanting dark angel in front of him. _

_ She wore a black strapless sleeveless dress that fell all the way to the floor. The material was sheer, he could see through, as if the dress was teasing him, showing some of Rin’s flawless skin that looked like the color of ivory. The way the dress spread out was like the web of a spider, with thin strands of black silk forming teasing spirals around her chest and hips. The dress even had a collar around her neck like a cuff, accentuating her bare arms. _

_ Her head adorned with a matching black tiara bejeweled with white crystals that shone and sparkled like the brightest stars in the evening sky. Yugo, who always loved looking books of constellations, once recalled how he happily proclaimed himself as Auriga, the charioteer. Rin teased him about that, asking what constellation she was and he answered Andromeda, the chained princess about to be swallowed by a whale. Rin got so mad at him for a few days after that! _

_ Yugo didn't think he could breathe anymore as he kept looking at Rin, a dark queen before his very eyes, her black lips like ink strokes on paper. She looked like the picture of dark perfection as she came closer, her feet bare, like a goddess of the night forest brought to life. As if this was her very nature to be In something like this. As if the dress was her second skin. Coyly, slowly, she walked closer to him, with a confident loving smile, before twirling away from his grasp, exposing her pale shoulder blades that were inked with the design of raven wings lined with silver. _

_ “Rin…” Yugo whispered, tears in his eyes. “RIN!!!!" He jumped off of the bed and chased her wanting her in his arms, to hug her, kiss her, promise her to never let go of her again. He wanted to praise her beauty, to cry and laugh. A need and desire to touch and kiss all that he could of her came over him. To bite her shoulders, leave his mark and scent on her. She looked so ethereal as she danced away teasingly, as if the act of even looking at her was forbidden for mortal eyes. He fell flat on his face, but he didn’t care. Rin was back! _

_ “Rin, is this a dream? Are you really here now? I missed you...I missed you so much! You have no idea what I’ve been through to find you!” Yugo exclaimed, tears falling down his face. He hastily stood up and took her hands into his. “I traveled other dimensions to look for you -- dimensions that use monsters that aren’t Synchro! And I met up with my brothers and Father and the one who kidnapped you was my older brother who was confused and -- “ _

_ Rin placed a finger on his lips to silence him. She smiled adoringly at him, her eyes gaining the softest look he'd seen before granting him mercy as she sat on the bed with her arms open for him _

_ "Rin," Yugo sobbed, wrapping his arms around her pushing both of them to lie on the bed with Yugo burying his face in Run's neck hugging her tighter, tears falling. _

_ "Hey," she whispered softly, wrapping her arms around him, running her fingers through his hair, nails lovingly raking the top of his head ever so lightly, while the other one rubbed his back and caressed lovingly between his shoulder blades. Yugo looked and saw the bracelet she wore on her wrist...the one he asked Yoko to buy for him. _

_ Yugo cried tears of joy. Yuri did it; he was able to deliver the bracelets to Rin and Ruri! _

_ "Gods I've messed you so much Yugo," Rin whispered, hugging him tighter to her as she kept touching him, it felt like heaven to the young dragon prince. _

_ Yugo nuzzled her, sobbing softly, he took a deep breath through his nose, just loving Run's familiar calming scent of balsam wood. _

_ "Rinrin. I missed you so much," Yugo pushed himself off of Rin, her hands on either side of her head on the mattress so he can look at her better. He raised a hand, wanting to caress her face. He was shaking now, and tried to wipe his falling tears away. _

_ "You look like a goddess," Yugo breathed. “A goddess of the night…” _

_ Rin giggled. “That sounds much better than a chained princess.” _

_ "I think we both can agree I am an idiot and you are magnificent,” Yugo chuckled before he sniffled. “I want you to be my queen. Rin, my dark queen. I never want to lose you again I want you as my treasure… as my mate. I want you with me forever." _

_ “I do too,” Rin replied, running a thumb across Yugo’s cheek. “Yugo, I love you," she said, placing her hand on Yugo's cheek. Yugo pressed her hand on his cheek once more before kissing the inside of her palm, and kept trailing kisses on her arm. _

_ "Yugo…" Rin's breath hitched. _

_ "I love you too Rin, love you so much," he pressed her hand back on his cheek and nuzzled it lovingly. "You're the most precious treasure I could ever ask for. Every last part of me wants to kiss you, bite you, claim you and keep you mine forever." _

_ "I'm not your chained princess Yugo," Rin teased. _

_ Yugo shook his head smiling, "You're a queen who earned a dragon. I'll be yours, as much as you are mine, everything I have is yours for the taking, be my mate, we'll belong to each other for eternity. Always and forever, together." _

_ "You're… asking me to marry you…" _

_ "Say yes, please," he begged. “Please Rinrin, say yes!” _

_ Rin's shock subsided. She then gave Yugo a soft smile with loving eyes as her mouth opened to answer the question… _

But before she could say anything, a loud scream pierced the air, and Yugo woke up in Yuya’s bedroom, startled. 

"Kaa-san? Kaa-san?!" He shouted.

Yugo kicked the door to the bedroom open and ran down the stairs. He watched as Yoko struggled to get away from three bikers with helmets obscuring their faces. The tallest one with the dark blue coat chuckled as the one with the black coat prepared a white cloth.

“We finally got you at long last, Yoko Sakaki…” The tall biker purred in Yoko’s ear.

“You won’t get away with this or I’m not ‘Loco Yoko’ for nothing!” Yoko snarled. “Someone help me before -- MMPH!”

“There, that will shut you up,” The black biker grumbled.

Yugo growled. How dare these bikers hurt Yoko kaa-san! He already lost Rin, he wasn’t going to lose his mother too!

“HEY!” Yugo shouted, catching their attention. “Let her go right now!”

“How about...never?” The biker in red replied. “Come on boys, let’s go!”

The tall biker carried Yoko over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. Yoko kicked and struggled, but to no avail. Yugo’s eyes began to glow, ready to whip up a storm that would take the breath out of these assailants.

“Get back here!” Yugo said, seeing the bikers escape out the front door. “Don’t you dare hurt kaa-san like that!”

“If you want her back, meet us at the old arcade building in an hour,” said the biker in black. “We’ll be waiting for you _ Yu~go _…”

“MY NAME IS NOT FUSION!” Yugo roared, sticking his head out of the front door. “And I don’t even know where this place is!”

The red biker groaned, pulled out a piece of paper from under his jacket and tossed it to Yugo. “Those are the instructions; it’s not that difficult. See ya then.”

Yoko continued to struggle as the bikers sped off. Yugo snarled, hastily headed inside the house, got dressed in his riding outfit and then raced out of the garage on his D-Wheel, duel disk equipped to it.

_ I’m coming to save you kaa-san... _ Yugo promised, eyes glowing. _ I’m not gonna lose anyone ever again! _

But if he paid a bit more attention, he would’ve sensed his father laughing a little.

_ Oh Yugo... _ Zarc thought. _ You’re in such a rush that you’re forgetting such an important question… _

_ If Yoko was _ really _ captured, wouldn’t you have sensed my rage by now? You’re such an impulsive boy, my dear. I need to fix that later. _

_ But for now, have a little fun dueling and venting out some stress. You deserve some time to yourself, my crystal. _

*************

Serena was always used to waking up with trumpets and air horns. They were used to get her up in the morning for mandatory drills and she had about five minutes to wake up, wash her face, get dressed then head out before the teacher started screaming into her ear many colorful insults that would make a sailor blush.

So the fact that she wasn’t woken up with something ear-piercing but instead someone shouting, “RISE AND SHINE!” as sunlight poured down on her caused her to wake up with a scream. She fell out of the bed and landed flat on her face.

“What the fuck?!” she shouted. “Who the hell was that?”

“That was me, Serena!” said Yuzu, folding the blanket from their pillow fort. “We have to get ready to head out to LDS!”

“Uh, yeah, right,” Serena grumbled, slowly rising to her feet and stretching her arms. “That...was the best sleep I had in a while,” she said, standing up and yawned. When she lowered her arms, she blinked, not feeling the familiar weight of her bracelet on her wrist. 

She thought she would be sad to have lost it, since ever since she could remember she had loved that bracelet, but after she found out the truth the bracelet had been nothing but a reminder of who the professor really wanted, a reminder of Serena not being real, merely a fraction of someone else. 

Now the bracelet was no more, and she truly felt...free, like she can float off the ground. Looking at her wrist, she smiled at the tattoo that replaced it. It looked and felt like it’s something that belonged to her, like it represented _ her _and not a reminder of Ray Akaba. 

A part of her wondered if her seeking approval from the Professor was from Ray herself. Was Ray always seeking the approval of her father? Now, she had Shuzo and possibly The Dragon King Zarc. Both freely giving her what she wants and trusting her to do what needs to be done and prove herself. They didn’t see her as Ray, they saw her as Serena...which was much more than what the Professor saw her as.

Her past in Academia and wanting the professor’s approval didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was fighting beside Yuzu and help keep her safe. Yuzu had shown her so much, treated her with kindness and trusted her in the span of one day compared to the years and _ years _she was not even trusted to leave her room and to be insulted and belittled as a “princess”. Shuzo welcomed her into their home even after the shock of learning she was associated with Obelisk Force because she truly was sincere about what she had done. Gaining recognition if it meant hurting people was no longer her goal. Helping protect her new family, yes, that’s what matters most now. 

“Girls!” Shuzo shouted from downstairs. “Hurry up before breakfast gets cold!”

“Coming!” Yuzu replied. She then turned to Serena. “I already took a shower and got dressed. Like what you see?”

Serena blinked as she looked at Yuzu head to toe. Instead of her white blouse, pink tie, lavender vest and maroon skirt, Yuzu was now wearing a kimono top that evoked the image of a butterfly -- or a moth, Serena always got those two confused -- the color of limes. The center of the blouse was pure white and there were four ovals like brown eyes on the blouse: one on the end of each sleeve and two at the bottom of the dress, one per side. Yuzu also wore a pair of black leggings and instead of her silver and blue baubles, her pink hair was held back in a headband that evoked the antennae of a moth. 

“It’s...different.” Serena muttered. She’s never seen anyone dressed like that before; all she saw was the same reds, yellows and blues of the school uniforms or the browns of the professors or the whites of the labcoats. She never saw anything so...bright before.

“I’m dressed as a luna moth!” said Yuzu, spinning around so Serena got a better look at the outfit, arms stretched out like the wings of said moth. “They represent rebirth and pursuit of knowledge. I feel like wearing this will give us good luck today.”

“I think we’ll need more than luck for our mission today…” Serena muttered.

“Now don’t be like that,” said Yuzu, handing Serena some new clothes, towel and Serena’s yellow hair ribbon. “Go and get yourself cleaned up, ok? Bathroom is just to the right of the bedroom.”

Serena nodded her head and marched out of the bedroom and straight towards the shower. Slipping herself out of her pajamas, she turned on the shower and began washing herself from head to toe. She sighed; showers were always strictly timed. Four minutes. Not a single second was to be wasted; all attention was focused on the Professor’s will.

Even the soaps and shampoos were different: here was rosewater shampoo and bodywash that smelled like fresh berries. The soap and shampoo held no scent and if they did, the scent was light and they smelled like they were recently processed in a factory. Just more and more lies covered until that was what everyone was made to believe.

Serena sighed as she leaned her head against the cool tile. She wasn’t going to have this luxury for very long; she and Yuzu were leaving in 48 hours, so she would have at least one more day of washing herself in warm water like this.

But she couldn’t stay there for long; she needed to eat something then head out.

So after ten minutes of luxuriating herself in sweet smelling shampoo and soap, Serena left the shower, dried herself up and stared at the new outfit Yuzu gave her for today. Usually she was stuck with a simple white shirt, cargo shorts and her...jacket. Now she had a black dress with a silver crescent and matching black shorts. Yuzu even added a new crescent moon accessory for her ribbon.

Taking a deep breath, Serena used a hand to wipe away the steam off a mirror and began to recite a few phrases under her breath while she tied her hair back. “I am a soldier. I do not cave under the pressure. I show no signs of weakness. I -- “

“What are you doing?”

Serena jumped when she saw Yuzu enter the bathroom, picking up a comb to defender herself before realizing that it’s kinda ridiculous to point a comb at someone. “I’m just...telling myself…” 

“That you’re a soldier?” Yuzu asked.

“I...yes…”

Yuzu smiled softly before putting her hands on Serena’s shoulders and directing her to the mirror, and kept her hands firmly on Serena. “You know what I see? I don’t see a soldier, I don’t see a person mindlessly going to war with no thought or need to question commands. I see a bright girl, strong and brave, ready to do whatever she can to protect innocent people, even people she doesn’t know. And she’s not alone. Because beside her is another girl, determined to help her, support her and protect her no matter what. Can you see that too?” 

Serena looked at the mirror and leaned close. She never really saw her reflection, except to stare into her eyes as she said her affirmations or to wipe water off of her face. The girl in the new outfit and the tattoo on her wrist was...new.

“I...think so…” Serena replied. She felt somewhat ashamed, falling into old habits back in her Academia days.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” said Yuzu. “Old habits die hard and new things are hard to get to. You’ll stop doing this in no time.” 

“I hope so…” Serena muttered. “So...what do you usually say to yourself in the mirror?”

Yuzu smiled as she faced the mirror. “I do my best to help others. I am able to spread joy to everyone I meet. I see every day as a new opportunity. I wish to inspire others. I am always there for my friends and loved ones.”

Serena smiled. “You’re really amazing Yuzu.” 

“Come on,” said Yuzu. “Your dueling skills are amazing! I actually started learning Fusion a few weeks ago...well, it was taught by Sora and most of it was just to show off Masumi on how I’ve been able to master it…”

“No, not that,” Serena said, shaking her head. “You’re so kind and helpful, and ready to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. You helped me understand that love could be a power, to protect the people we love is the strongest motivation someone could have. That’s why, you really _ are _amazing Yuzu.”

“Oh come on, you’re just saying that…”

“No, I’m being serious. I know now that life isn’t about dueling or being the best. Yeah it hurt to lose, but at the same time winning didn’t make us feel any better. I realized that now: what’s the point of putting it all into winning if you feel like absolute shit inside? Now I have a new reason to duel, to fight.”

“But you won’t have to do it alone,” Yuzu pointed out, poking Serena on the tip of her nose. “And...you know what? Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything!” Serena exclaimed.

“You think you can give me some more pointers on Fusion Summoning?” Yuzu replied. “I mean, Sora was a good teacher and all, but I honestly think that you’d do much better.”

“Really...you want me to teach you?”

“Of course!” Yuzu beamed. “But I’m not going to be like Academia; I want to use Fusion to heal. Besides, it’s not like flowers can kill you.”

Before Serena could comment on that, Shuzo’s voice rang once again, “GIRLS!!! GET DOWN BEFORE BREAKFAST GETS COLD!”

Yuzu and Serena paused for a second before laughing and heading downstairs. Shuzo, wearing a pair of red pajamas, was in the kitchen just as the smell of bacon filled the dining room.

“My,” said Shuzo, noticing the outfits Serena and Yuzu were wearing. “Well, you two look like you’re going to paint the town red!”

“No, we’re just heading off to LDS,” Serena stated.

“It’s an expression,” said Yuzu. “It means we get dressed up nice and have some fun in the city today. But Serena’s right dad. We’re off to LDS.”

Shuzo nodded his head. “It’s about Hokuto, right?”

“Y...yeah…” said Serena, bowing her head slightly. “At the very least, I want to be able to help someone out.”

“At the very least, it will make you take the weight off your shoulders. Now come on, let’s eat! I’ve got some stuff to do at the You Show Duel School today and reply to emails in regards to potential students enrolling at the school. Comments on the school website have praised Yuya, Yuzu and Tatsuya’s performances!”

Yuzu blushed a little as she pulled her chair out and sat down. Serena did the same and then looked down at her plate: in front of her were three fried eggs, two thick slices of bacon and two equally thick slices of toast topped with melted cheese. She licked her lips; breakfast at Academia never looked this delicious.

“This is the Howl’s Breakfast special!” Shuzo exclaimed. “From _ Howl’s Moving Castle _. I didn’t know how many eggs you liked so I essentially cooked an entire dozen for all of us.

“There’s a moving castle to a man named Howl in this dimension?!” 

“No,” said Yuzu giggling. “Dad’s talking about a movie. In one scene Sophie, the main character of the film, is cursed to have the form of an 80-year-old woman and she decides to cook breakfast for the wizard, Howl.” she sighed. “Hayao Miyazaki can make food in his movies look so _ delicious _.”

“Oh! Well it _ does _ look delicious,” said Serena.

“And I’m proud of it!” Shuzo chuckled alongside Yuzu. This time, Serena laughed as well as she sat down.

Breakfast was mostly quiet and Shuzo turned on the television to watch the news. The newscaster was talking about the unexpected announcement about the Arc League Championship being cancelled and Himika and Reiji’s announcement of other dimensions and the formation of the Lancers. Yuzu frowned at that, recalling how she and Serena had to fight off against three Obelisk Force soldiers before they were stalked by Yuri. Were it not for Yoko, she and Serena would be…

Well, they wouldn’t be here having breakfast for one thing.

“So Serena,” said Yuzu, tearing one slice of bread in half and using a half to stab an egg yolk.. “Did you come to Standard by yourself?”

Serena, just about to take a bite out of her bacon, stopped. “No,” she said. “I didn’t. I actually came here with my ‘bodyguard’ Barrett.”

“Bodyguard?” asked Shuzo. “Why would you need a bodyguard?”

“I don’t need one, I can handle myself just fine,” Serena answered. “But the Professor always had one with me to ensure I never left his sight. All of them were the same, just lap dogs for the professor to and I quote ‘Keep me safe from the dangers that might harm me’. It frustrated me to no end, especially since I was still in the Academy and no one would have harmed me there. It made me feel like I didn’t fit in with the other students…” 

“That’s crazy!” Shuzo exclaimed. “I mean, I’m protective of Yuzu but she doesn’t need a big strong man to save her!”

“Yeah I agree, neither did I. But they probably weren’t there to protect me, they were there to keep an eye on me and make sure I don’t leave Akademia, so I can stay where the professor has control.” 

“Is Barrett still here now?” asked Yuzu. “And what does he look like? He uses Fusion, doesn’t he? So what type of deck does he use?”

“Barrett has blue hair and scars over the left side of his face, along from an eyepatch after he and his fellow ‘soldiers’ ran into a Widespread Ruin Trap. He uses something called a ‘Beastborg’ deck, combining Machine and Beast-Warrior monsters along with plenty of Trap Cards based on medals; he’s kinda obsessed with them. And no, he’s no longer here. Reiji forced him to retreat back to Academia and sent a signal to send Obelisk Force soldiers to bring me back to Academia, along with you..” 

“But why do these guys want Yuzu in the first place?” asked Shuzo. “I mean, if they accidentally captured her by thinking she was you, then it would be different. But why do the two of you need to be taken?”

“It’s...complicated,” Serena answered, recalling the promise she made with Zarc. 

“Can’t be as complicated as seeing three doppelgangers of Yuya.” said Yuzu. “I mean, I wonder if Yuri has been given the same treatment you...maybe if Yuri lived in Maiami City with Yuya, I don’t think Professor Akaba would’ve been able to corrupt him like that.”

“DID YOU JUST SAY PROFESSOR AKABA?!” Shuzo shouted, nearly causing Serena to fall out of her chair in shock. “Professor Akaba is running a military dueling camp in another dimension?!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too when Serena told me last night,” said Yuzu.

“The same Leo Akaba who revolutionized acton dueling with Yusho? That...that can’t be! What could possibly make him do this?”

“I...honestly don’t know,” Serena answered. “One day, Professor Akaba appeared and stated that he was going to train us for an invasion to create a utopia. But no...he never even asked the Xyz Dimension about this.”

“You don’t exactly _ ask _ people you wanna invade about invading them, that’s not how war works!” Shuzo stated. “That man seems nothing more than a dictator. Why did the Fusion Dimension even followed him in the first place? Wouldn’t there be more skeptics or something? I mean, was the Fusion Dimension _ that _terrible before the Professor showed up?” 

“I don’t know how he did it, but that’s not the point,” said Yuzu. “What’s important is that we have to stop him before he starts a true invasion on Maiami City and has his ‘soldiers’ destroy everything we love with the use of Ancient Gear monsters.” 

Shuzo frowned as he took everything in -- and to think the most horrifying thing he has ever had to worry about was the lack of funds for You Show Duel School -- before he added, “Reiji was hiding this for quite some time...and that thing he said about all LDS schools being given training for when a true invasion came…”

“Yeah, what is it?” asked Yuzu.

“Do you think...that was what Himika and Reiji were trying to do when they asked to buy out the school?”

“They wanted to turn You Show Duel School into a military camp?” Yuzu gasped. “That’s…”

“Horrible,” Shuzo said. “I mean, it was one thing having them accuse Yuya for attacking Shingo, but now trying to buy out the school under such a flimsy pretense and then converting it into what Yusho stood against! This...I don’t know what to feel.”

“I do,” said Serena . “I think that Reiji ought to feel ashamed of himself for what he did. He sits around in his office and make _ others _ do his dirty work! He made those members of the Youth Division fight back against Obelisk Force without preparing them on how powerful they’re going to be. And then he makes this Battle Royale to disguise the invasion and risk the duelists who participate in it into being carded! There are more than a dozen casualties from Reiji’s _ decision _ and he feels nothing about it! A true general would be in the front lines from the very beginning, and Reiji _ is not that at all _!”

Serena slammed her hands onto the table as she said that. After taking three deep breaths, she snatched one of the slices of bacon on her plate with her hands, tearing into it to stop herself from screaming.

“Serena, you have to remember that CEO or not, Reiji’s only a kid himself,” said Shuzo. “If you think about it, his father just _ abandoned _ him and his mother doesn’t seem like a woman who would give affection at all. Reiji’s had no one by his side to support him. Well, except maybe his mom but I honestly don’t see her as ‘good parent material’. I mean, Yuya could’ve gone down a dark path after his father, Yusho, left three years ago. Were it not for the support of his mother, Yuzu, me and his friends.”

Serena gasped at that. From how Yuzu talked about Yuya, she saw a boy always positive and rarely with a frown on his face. To think that Yuya could’ve also ended up like Yuri if he didn’t have people to support him it was such a scary thought, and the reverse might be true, if Yuri had had people near him, people who didn’t fear him or were jealous of how good he was, he might have turned out different. 

“You may not like Reiji’s decisions, but don’t personally hate him,” said Shuzo. “He’s doing the best that he can, and, okay many of his intentions look well on paper -- even though they actually don’t go over so well -- but I think you should give him a break, and give him the benefit of the doubt. No one else would have acted like that. And no one else knew about the dimension or the upcoming invasion, and it _ is _ hard to believe the words of a child when something like dimensional war is at hand. Unless faced with cold hard evidence, people usually see what they want to believe. And Reiji did the best he could for a 16 year old with no backup, having to deal with the fact that 1) he’s running his father’s company for the past three years, 2) he’s working on the curriculum of the greatest Duel School in this dimension -- most likely in preparation for the war -- and is trying to train them as an attack force strong enough to stand against those who can use a simple Polymerization and 3) the person who is causing all of this to happen _ is his own father _. It’s not an easy thing to deal with, fighting your own family, and it’s amazing how he hasn’t cracked under the pressure. I feel sad for him now, and that’s not something I usually feel for him.

“But that leads me to another question; how did Professor Akaba even _ know _ there were different dimensions in the first place? And why establish his ‘school’ in the Fusion Dimension? 

“He didn’t ‘establish’ the school,” Serena said. “It already existed.”

“What?” Shuzo and Yuzu asked. 

“Academia was there before the Professor came. He just took over the place when he arrived, or that’s what they say happened. The school has been there from the start.”

“But if it already existed, who made the school in the first place?” asked Yuzu.

_ “He’s standing right behind your dad!” _Seto remarked, arms folded over his chest, impatiently tapping a finger on his arm. He took notice on the inked bracelet on Serena’s wrist; he, Joey and Mokuba were having a bet as to how long it would take for someone to realize that the original silver bracelet was gone.

“And children are just _ forced _ to apply to that school?” Shuzo asked incredulously.

“Yeah, when you reach a certain age children, if they have a family or in an Orphanage are required to be sent to Academia for training.”

“And...you never had a family, did you?” Shuzo asked, heartbroken. 

Serena stabbed an egg yolk with her slice of bacon as she sadly answered. “...I didn’t.”

“Well, that’s changing today!” Shuzo announced, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. “From this day forth, I am calling you my daughter. Serena Hiragi...that has a nice ring to it.”

“Dad, that’s going to be a bit difficult,” said Yuzu. “I mean, not only are her personal records in _ another dimension _, but you barely have enough money to take care of me!”

“Don’t worry about a thing Yuzu, that’s not for you to worry about. Besides, I think I can take care of an extra girl as beautiful and special as my own! You should just think about you and Serena getting to Academia and kicking some ass along with the rest of these Lancers! Show them how dueling is meant to bring people together, not tear them apart!” 

Serena blushed at the words “special” and “beautiful” from Shuzo and a big smile form on her face as she tried to hide her tears of happiness from the two. No one ever called her “special” -- or if they did, it was more like an insult for the “special treatment” the Professor gave her-- or “beautiful” -- she never really cared about her looks compared to the other female students and she focused more on approval than appearance -- but Shuzo made these words sound so sincere.

“What do you think Serena? Would you like to be a part of our family?” Shuzo asked happily. 

“Please say yes, please say yes!” Yuzu begged, hands clasped together.

"I… I… OF COURSE I WANT TO BE PART OF THIS FAMILY!" Serena yelled throwing herself at Shuzo, crying before hugging Yuzu tightly. Shuzo responded by crying loudly.

“This is beautiful!!!!” he bawled. “I’m so happy! I now have two beautiful daughters. If only Yusho was here to see this…” Shuzo hastily wiped his tears with the back of his arm. “This calls for a celebratory dinner! After class is over, I’m taking us to the best _ yakinuku _ restaurant in town!”

“Is it really necessary?” asked Serena.

“Of course it is!” Shuzo shouted. “And I’m inviting Yoko and Yuya also! Oh and Gongenzaka too if it’s okay with him.”

“Maybe we should invite Yugo, Yuto and Shun too?” Serena asked.

“Yeah we invite Yugo, Yuto and...Shun?!” Shuzo shouted. “You want to invite someone from LDS too?!”

"No dad, Shun is actually from the Xyz Dimension. I think he just made a deal with Reiji or something," Yuzu said. "I just have no idea why Mazumi believed that he is a student from LDS though. It's weird."

“Shun was looking for hints about someone kidnapping his sister, Ruri,” Serena elaborated. “His dimension got invaded by Academia students.”

“Wait a second...is the city he from called Heartland?”

“Yeah…”

“...That explains his attitude during his duel against Sora then,” Shuzo replied. “Reiji just made him go through so much trauma without even _ considering _just what Shun went through. I mean, to fight in a field that resembled his home and then watching it be destroyed a second time? It’s a miracle how Shun hasn’t suffered through PTSD, especially since his opponent was one of the people who caused the destruction of his home in the first place. “

"Despite that, Reiji needs at least a punch in the face for making Shun in an Action Field that looks just Like heartland," Serena grumbled. 

“Now, now, punching a CEO -- while he does deserve it -- isn’t going to end well,” said Shuzo. 

"Maybe but someone needs to hold him accountable for it." Serena added..

“We’ll think about that later,” said Yuzu. “Come on, let’s finish our breakfast then head off. Masumi and Yaiba will probably heading off to Lancers Orientation by the time we get there.”

"Right," Serena nodded, hurriedly scarfing down her breakfast as Yuzu couldn’t help but look at her sadly. Serena never had a chance to live a normal life; even eating breakfast like this would’ve been considered a _ luxury _ for her.

But Yuzu promised that this would change. She and her father will give Serena the family that she'd never had. 

And to make sure that no one could take her away from them.

As Yuzu began to finish her breakfast, she didn’t see Seto’s reaction. He took note of the smile on Yuzu’s face, the look in her eye as she made that promise to herself. In a way, Yuzu reminded him of himself, wanting to protect Mokuba and let nothing stand in their way of keeping their family safe. He honestly couldn’t wait to see how she dueled in the future.. 

As spirits he, Joey and Mokuba can move around in this dimension as they pleased but are bound in the end to the cards that house their souls that were currently in Zarc's hands. Having pretty much nothing to do until Synchro, the three of them agreed to trail beside Serena and Yuzu and either try to help or preventing them from finding something The Dragon King didn't want them to. Also, even with Serena accepting Zarc’s proposal for power, she wouldn’t be able to see them unless they allowed her to, but it wasn’t necessary right now (and would cause a lot of confusion and panic which was the last thing needed).

_ “I honestly can’t wait to see these Action Duels.” _ Mokuba said. _ “I bet they look so cool!” _

_ “Yeah, where do I go to sign up for one of those schools?” _Joey added.

_ "Come back when you have a corporal body Joey, though you might want to hide these wings." _ Seto remarked, staring at his own. _ “Personally, I want to see what’s so great about this Yuya Sakaki and those Pendulum monsters he created.” _

_ “Well what are we waiting for?!” _said Joey.

_ “For the two to finish breakfast and leave the house, puppy.” _Seto remarked, chuckling a little at Joey pouting at the nickname. 

**************

Shun woke up once more, groaning a little. He felt so relaxed right now. His prince and he played a little and then he was given a nice warm bath before the two cuddled. He sighed; he wished he could always wake up like this.

His heart felt a little better now that it wasn’t weighed by guilt of running away from Yuto. He turned around to face Yuto seeing him still fast asleep and sighed, getting deja vu from this morning as he looked at the beautiful prince lying beside him, pink lips slightly parted. He wanted to kiss him, to taste these soft lips, run his tongue and teeth over them until they were kiss swollen. He leaned forwards tentatively, shyly and gave the sleeping prince a chaste kiss. 

He didn't expect Yuto to pull him closer however, eyes still closed and deepening the kiss more. Shun moaned, not noticing Yuto's hand as it ran down Yuto's crest on his back, sending delicious mind numbing pleasure into him, making his eyes roll to the back of his head and made him want to scream. 

Yuto let him go and Shun panted, face red, eyes unfocused and filled with lust. He heard Yuto giggle before he blessedly pressed himself to Shun's side, his finger teasingly drawing a circle on his shoulder. Shun shivered; his mind rewarding him by stating that as a treasure, he was given this love and sweetness from his prince. Reminding him that his prince loved him so, and happily gave him that pleasure for being a good treasure. 

"See?" asked Yuto huskily into his ear. "Now isn't this much better than running away this morning?" 

"Yes my prince," Shun answered breathlessly dazed, Yuto smirked before straddling Shun, leaning forwards to kiss Shun’s lips. Shun leaned his head back, accepting the kiss, wanting more of it, wanting his mind to just fade away and all he focused on was Yuto’s lips and tongue and oh god it was good... 

It was over all too soon and Shun couldn't help but whine. Yuto got off of him and Shun tried to chase after him before Yuto's hand and words stopped him. 

"Uh uh, you stay here, wait for me to come back," he gave Shun one more kiss. "As much as I'd love to play with you all day long, I need to get you something to wear," he ran a finger down Shun's neck and hummed before pushed Shun back on the bed gently before standing up and getting the rest of his clothes back on. Once he adjusted the collar of his coat, Yuto winked, blowing Shun a kiss. "Love you my treasure, I'll be back soon as I can." He said before entering the shadows. 

When Yuto left the room, Shun ran his finger over his lips in wonder and sighed happily. How could he be such a fool to try to leave his loving, caring prince? To leave such wonderful happy feelings in his mind?

“I wish it was always like this,” Shun sighed, looking at the ceiling. Already he could feel himself floating, mind drifting away into another light trance. He barely remembered just what Yuto whispered in his ear hours ago, when he was bound by shadows, but he knows that it felt good.

Did it matter that he was acting like this? What others would think if they learned at how he was Yuto’s precious treasure? No, what mattered was being by Yuto’s side. What mattered was destroying Academia and rescuing his sister. What mattered was him being a precious plaything for his dragon prince.

Shun shivered at the idea, sparks of pleasure going through his head at the thought of being Yuto's plaything. Part of him wanted to say that he was forced to be this way, that he was hypnotised by Yuto to love him. Another part questioned if that was wrong; Yuto didn’t tell him to do anything wrong or bad...all he did was show love and affection, something Shun has wanted ever since Academia destroyed their home. Yuto never asked Shun to love him, Shun had had feelings for Yuto for a long time. All the lust and desire didn't feel artificial not even to the still sane part of his mind, Yuto just brought these feelings out, and while Shun was forced to obey, he couldn't help but love every moment of it. 

Being told and comforted by Yuto made him happy, truly happy. His mind wasn't a mess of hurtful emotions of anger, rage, despair and hatred anymore. Now he could be calm and relaxed and have someone help him. Control him. Love him.

“Control is love...love is control... “ Shun murmured. He blinked at that statement. Where did that come from? Logically it seemed so wrong; you shouldn’t control people, especially not your loved ones. It's wrong, it's taking their choice away.

Yet, it felt so _ right… _

“Control is love, love is control…” Shun repeated and felt his mind grow heavy. "Yuto…" he realized. Yuto was the one who implanted that suggestion in his mind…

His prince loved him that much to control him.

Part of Shun wanted to rebel on the whole thing, make that line of thinking stop. But why should he? By his side it was always Yuto, even before this mess, before the dragons, through the war, through losing Ruri, through coming to this dimension, Yuto was there. Yuto cared for him, wanted him safe, wanted him to not rush ahead without thinking.

“Control is love, love is control...control is love, love is control…” Shun chanted. The more he said it, the more true it became in his mind, the more shivers of pleasure he felt. “Control is love, love is control…”

Shun groaned as his lips continued the mantra, his mind absorbing each and every word, drowning in pleasure. Soon enough, he had lost count of how many times he said it, lost count on what he was saying, his mind blank as he tossed and turned and repeated the phrase ad infinitum. The sheets in-between his legs paled in comparison to Yuto’s tail teasing him.

“Control is love, love is control...control is love, love is control...control is love, love is control…”

Time had no meaning for Shun, whose eyes glazed over as he kept stating those two phrases over and over again. Not even when Yuto returned with a shopping bag half an hour later had he stopped, body covered in a film of sweat, panting for breath and mind lost in a daydream. A smile formed on Yuto’s lips as devious thoughts entered his mind at how he can make his treasure feel better.

“That’s right…” Yuto cooed, approaching the bedside and running a finger down Shun’s cheek. “Very good, my treasure. Every time you repeat this, the more it becomes true. You love this state of bliss, don’t you?”

Shun shuddered slightly, but otherwise kept repeating the words that were woven into his mind, eyes rolling to the back of his head, completely lost to the hypnotic spell..His hands roamed across bare flesh, one of them in-between his legs and lost to one of his darkest fantasies.

Yuto chuckled. He had such a pretty toy to play with! He wondered how susceptible to commands Shun was in this state. He smirked and decided to test it out. 

"Shun, my beautiful caged bird, you're doing so good for me, so well," Yuto leaned down and began to whisper in Shun's ear huskily. "Surrender to me my beautiful treasure, fall deeper into my control, my love, feel the bliss cover your body from head to toe. You are safe here and all you have to do is listen and follow…”

“Yesss...my prince…” Shun replied with a dazed smile on his face. In his mind, Yuto was straddling him, leaning down and whispering those words in his ear. 

"Do you feel good Shun? Does obeying me feel good?"

“Feel goood….” Shun moaned.

Yuto chuckled and began roaming his hand over Shun's bare chest. “What were you thinking of? Answer me treasure." 

Shun pouted; it was hard to think and it was something that he felt embarrassed to admit. But he couldn’t disobey his prince… “I...can’t...tell…”

"No, go on, I know you were having such a pretty fantasy, what was it?" 

“You...with me…you...t-taking...me…”

"Where?" Yuto whispered, smirking. He could easily read Shun’s mind, but he wanted to hear it from Shun himself. 

Shun groaned, biting his tongue. “Down...there...couldn’t...move…”

"Was I sweet and gentle to you, or hard and unforgiving?" 

“Rough...hard...hurt...hurt so good…wanted more...wanted...”

"Wanted what?"

“Wanted you forever...wanted to be in bliss...” Shun shivered. “Want you touching me and making me feel good~”

"You've been such a perfect treasure, Shun,” Yuto purred, pressing himself to Shun's body, hand closing on his member and began to stroke it. Shun whimpered at feeling that hand on his erection, tears in his eyes as Yuto teased him with such soft and gentle strokes.

“Nooooo...hard...fast…” Shun whined, knowing deep down that Yuto was with him, helping indulge in this dark fantasy of his. If he was aware of what he was saying or doing, he’d probably die of embarrassment.

“Not yet…” Yuto purred. “Tell me who you are~”

“I’m Prince Yuto’s treasure,” Shun announced, not caring what that meant, on the edge of release. “His loving, obedient treasure. His falcon knight. I will protect him with my life, obey his every command. Be his for the rest of eternity. Nothing else matters except what my prince commands.”

“Yes...and pretty birdy isn’t ashamed to divulge in his fantasies, especially in front of his prince, is he not? He wants to be on display for his prince, does not feel any shame at all when under this beautiful state of trance.” 

Shun smiled, wanting to be proud of how he was a beautiful shiny treasure for Yuto. "I want to be on… display for my prince. Don't feel…. any shame...want to divulge every fantasy to my beloved prince. " 

“Good, good…” Yuto purred, continuing his strokes. Of course, he could easily see into Shun’s mind, but it was so much fun to see Shun admit this out loud.

“Please…” Shun begged, arching his back, whimpering. “Let...let me...let me come...need to come…”

"Of course my sweet treasure. You did everything so right you deserve a reward, don't you? Now then...come for me," Yuto whispered before biting down on Shun's shoulder. Shun’s eyes widened and the older boy screamed as he came all over Yuto's hand and his stomach. He could feel the aftershocks of the bite course through his blank, shattered mind. The bites were much more powerful than the seal on the back of his neck and Shun loved it.

"Ahhh, so pretty," Yuto cooed, wiping Shun’s seed off of his hand with the bedsheets. He chuckled at how Shun made such a mess even after Yuto gave him a bath. Such a naughty little bird! "I'll let you enjoy this bliss for a while more, my caged bird. Such a pretty birdy that's all mine, forever." He said, kissing Shun's forehead. "Once the pleasure ends you will wake up from this trance, my sweet Falcon Knight. You’ll remember everything that you did and said too. But don’t feel bad about it...there’s no shame at all. I loved the little show you gave me, my naughty treasure…”

Shun whined as the pleasure began to slowly fade. He wanted it to last forever, whimpering as the waves of lust and desire began to ebb away little by little, until Shun shook his head and felt himself back in reality.

“Ugh... “ he groaned, feeling sticky as everything came back to him. Upon seeing his chest, he immediately used the bedsheets to wipe himself clean when he saw Yuto through his peripheral vision.

“My...prince…” Shun whispered, wanting to feel ashamed yet doing so felt...wrong somehow. Shouldn’t he feel shame?

Yuto chuckled. “It’s okay, Shun. No one knows except me. I’m sorry if I made you wait. But I had to get you your new wardrobe. Now then, stand up. I’m going to dress you up myself. You aren’t allowed to move except if it allows you to get your clothes on.”

Shun wanted to protest a bit. Dress him? Shun can dress himself, he was not a child. But something stopped any words from coming out. It's what his prince wanted, he wanted to dress Shun, so what's the harm in indulging his prince's little desire? His prince would indulge his if he himself desired something. 

Shun nodded his head, "Y-yes my prince."

Yuto purred as Shun obeyed without the smallest of protests. "Good treasure, such a good treasure." 

Shun felt himself shiver in delight at the praise and smiled lovingly at his prince. Yes he should indulge Yuto more. 

After finding his boxers and hastily putting them on, Shun stood on a patch of carpet that wasn’t stained or covered in smashed furniture as Yuto began to pull out each item one at a time: black leggings, a matching coat, and a teal short-sleeved shirt. Shun's face was completely red by the time Yuto was done; putting his clothes on had allowed the prince small feather light touches all over his body teasing him. To Shun, he felt like was about to become a mannequin on display...all that was left was Yuto posing him and then telling him to stay in place. 

Yuto kissed him on the lips. "Look at you my perfect treasure, on display only for me. Father used to do this to us too, make our bodies stiff as he dressed us up. We had a game we used to play; whenever one of us had to get dressed up, the others got to tickle us until we started laughing. We couldn’t cover our bodies, run, or move. We had to take the torture until Father let us go," he finished with a sigh, having a big smile on his lips. 

Shun shuddered. The more Yuto talked about having control on him, the more he felt...comfortable about the idea loved it even. This felt so wrong though; if Yuto loved Shun so much, he wouldn’t do something like this yet, yet he loved being so helpless and paralyzed and under Yuto’s control...

Control is love...love is control. 

“...Um, my prince...is...is that all?” asked Shun, looking at his new outfit. He wanted to move his head to look at himself in the cracked mirror, but Yuto’s commands made him rooted to the floor. Part of him wanted to feel frightened at the lack of personal freedom, another side of him argued that this is what Prince Yuto wanted and he should be happy to obey such a command.

“Not yet,” said Yuto, pulling out one small black velvet box. He opened it and smiled. “This is the last item and I want you to personally put it on.”

The last item in Yuto’s hand was...a black leather collar. Shun's breath hitched, his lips parted ever so slightly and eyes wide. A collar...First, Yuto's mark, then a bite and now a collar that signified full ownership, adorned with multiple amethysts. Shun didn't know how to react: either to be scared of losing his freedom or to beg for the collar to be put on him. 

“What’s wrong?” Yuto asked, noticing the fear in Shun’s eyes. “You don’t like it?”

“No, of course not!” Shun exclaimed. He never wanted his prince to look so sad. “It’s beautiful…”

“It’s not as beautiful as you are, my love. You are far more precious than all the gold and jewels of the world, my beloved treasure.”

Shun gulped, eyes locked on the sparkling amethysts that seemed to blind him until all he saw was a storm of purple light.

“Put it on,” Yuto commanded, voice soft. “And once it is around your neck, you are mine. You cannot resist a command I give.”

It should have frightened Shun to his very core. The idea of being Yuto's obedient slave like that, the idea of never having free will to disobey again. But… he loved his prince, loved to be touched by him, kissed by him, bitten, rewarded, loved the mind numbing pleasure, loved Yuto's control.

“Control is love...love is control…” Shun mouthed automatically. 

“Exactly…” Yuto whispered to Shun's lips, placing the collar into Shun’s hand.. "Go on my perfect treasure, show me how much you want my love, how much you want my control." 

Shun lifted the collar at eye level, seeing the amethysts shine like Yuto’s dragon scales. This was it; once this was on him, he could never go back.

Shun placed a kiss on the collar before, with trembling hands, he slipped it over his neck. It felt… so good to put it on. It was snug around his neck, but not too tight, like Yuto just wrapped his arms around him protectively, lovingly, sweetly embracing him. His eyes closed involentarly; his body completely relaxed with a smile on his face. 

Yuto grinned. “Prostate yourself towards me, and I shall knight you.” 

Shun's breath hitched again before moving a few steps towards Yuto and kneeling before him. He opened his eyes, somewhat glazed over in pleasure at obeying his prince.

“Shun Kurosaki, do you swear to remain by your princes' side, protect him from all harm, give him your very body and soul?” Yuto asked, placing a hand on Shun’s shoulder. “To become his loyal guard, his knight, to do everything in your power to make sure your prince succeeds in all he desires?”

“I...I do…” Shun whispered, sure of his decision.

"Then I hereby name you my Knight of Revolution, my knight of Xyz, rise." 

Shun did as he was told to. Suddenly Shun found Yuto in his arms hugging him tightly, nuzzling his chest. "Now I'll never lose you. You'll never leave me! Never never, will never fear me, mine now mine mine!" Shun's eyes widen as tears were falling down Yuto's cheeks, happy tears. "Always and forever," he whispered softly, burying his face in Shun's chest. The two of them state like that for a while basking in each other's presence. "Now then," Yuto said wiping the tears but still looking at Shun happily, adoringly. "My knight, you deserve an armor to honor you."

Yuto snapped his fingers and then shadows wrapped around Shun’s body, covering him from head to toe. He didn’t fight them, letting this darkness penetrate his soul as he found his outfit changing. Pauldrons shaped like raven heads formed on his shoulders, a breastplate with the same blue-black hue, and a helm with a pointed beak covering his gold eyes. Wings sprouted from his back as the gauntlets covering his hands grew claws to slice the enemy into ribbons. He looked like a true knight now.

Shun stared at Yuto, his eyes glowing from beneath the bird-like helm. He stood there, waiting for his prince to issue a command.

Yuto smiled. "You're free to do as you desire, my love. You will never refuse me a command, but you have your own will to do as you want. The will to fight still burns within you, though. Speak your mind and act however you please."

Shun smiled and cupped Yuto’s face. “Thank you, my love…”

Yuto smiled and happily leaned to Shun's touch before taking the hand in his and kissing it. 

“I’m so happy,” Yuto whispered. “When we reunite with Ruri, she will also become a knight. You will both be my knights, my lovers, my treasures. I will never lose either of you."

A part of Shun was happy at that, to see his sister in knight’s armor, protecting Yuto as Yuto protected them. Yes, he wanted Ruri back, and soon.

“Um, quick question,” said Shun. “Where did you get these clothes and...my collar?”

Yuto chuckled. "I bought the clothes with Kaa-san's credit card, as for the collar… " he watched as the shadows made Shun’s armor fade away before running a loving finger over said collar. "I got it from our old castle. The shadows extend to many realms and I knew I wanted to give you this, it was simply too perfect not to." 

“Why do you...even have a collar? I mean, if it’s not too much to ask.”

“It belonged to Father,” Yuto whispered. “As a Dragon King, he is known to have a collection of treasures. And as his son, I also have access to it. Papa was happy to let me have this collar to claim you as my beautiful treasured knight. Mineminemine…” Yuto nuzzled to Shun again and sighed. 

Shun couldn't help but smile adoringly at Yuto and wrap his arms around him too. Pressing Yuto closer, he was amazed how much his prince loved him, he seemed so… incredibly happy to have Shun, genuine soft and loving happiness not merely possessiveness, even though it's clearly there. 

“So…” Shun whispered after the two separated. “After we get breakfast, what should we do? We have today and tomorrow to prepare until we head for Synchro.”

Yuto tilted his head. There was plenty to do in Maiami City before they went: walk in the park, buy new cards for their decks, go on a...date.... 

Yes, a date sounded like a perfect idea. Just the two spending time together as a loving couple...Yuto smiled, kissing Shun's cheek before humming in thought. 

“Well,” he began. “Let’s go shop for new cards first. We won’t have a chance to go shopping after we head off. Then, what do you say we visit the You Show Duel School here?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Shun questioned, feeling somewhat angry at Yusho for abandoning Heartland when the invasion came. Not to mention that he was “from” LSD and Sora was “from” You Show...

Yuto nuzzled against Shun’s cheek. "I just wanna see what the school looks like, just a quick look, it is Yusho's and he did make Heartland happy for a while. Besides, it's a precious place for my brother I wouldn't mind seeing it and I have to explain that it was...kinda my fault that Yuya nearly lost it. And if you get angry or uncomfortable we can easily leave at once. What do you say my knight?" He placed a playful kiss on Shun's nose. 

Shun stared at Yuto, so happy to have such a loving, kind prince who understood him. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on Yuto’s nose.

“I think that sounds perfect,” he said.

**************

  
  


After breakfast, Yuzu and Serena strapped on their Duel Disks and headed for the LDS Tower. On the way, Serena looked in awe at her surroundings of people going about their daily lives, even after the announcement of dimensions, the invaders and more it seemed like people would carry on and not let such threatening news not disturb them at all. 

What caught her off by surprise was how people came up to say hello to her, many of them young girls who were inspired by Yuzu’s previous duel against some fairy idol on roller skates. Mothers of these little girls thanked Yuzu for being such a positive role model and that they would try to enroll their daughters into You Show Duel School in the future.

“Yuzu-san,” said a little girl, turning to Serena. “Who’s she? And why does she look like you?”

“I’m...uh…” Serena stammered.

“This is my little sister, Serena!” Yuzu answered happily. ‘I adopted her yesterday.” 

Serena flushed but had a sweet smile on her face at the young girls looking at her with wide eyes. She was soon bombarded with various questions, “Are you attending You Show Duel School too? What type of deck do you use? Do you use Fusion like Yuzu?”

Thankfully Yuzu was there to help move things along and lead the two of them towards LDS Tower. Serena was slightly nervous; she’d rather be fighting off three members of Obelisk Force again, if she wanted to be perfectly honest.

“You ready?” asked Yuzu..

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Serena replied. She was nervous and terrified about this, but she had to face Masumi and Yaiba and apologize.

“Let’s go.”

The two approached the door of LDS as it automatically opened…

To reveal Shingo Sawatari and his lackeys just about to exit.

There was an awkward pause as Yuzu and Serena stepped back and Shingo raised an eyebrow at the girls. “Well, well, well,” he said. “If it isn’t Zuzu and her ‘twin sister’.”

“Zuzu?!” Yuzu growled.

“Where’s Masumi and Yaiba?” asked Serena.

“Oh, they’re off at Lancers Orientation," Ootomo answered.

"Lancer Orientation?" Serena asked, raIsing her eyebrow before turning to Yuzu.

“They’re getting the low-down on what it takes to be a Lancer,” Shingo clarified. “Of course, I’d join them but I already showed off my skills yesterday.”

“Was that before or _ after _you got electrocuted and made things worse for the rest of us?” asked Serena.

“Answer this, Serena,” Shingo snapped back. “Did you have any back-up plan to save yourself from Obelisk Force’s attack?”

“...”

“Didn’t think so. Now then, step aside,” said Shingo, running a hand through his bangs. “I’m heading out. Gotta prepare my deck to show the other dimensions that I, Neo-Sawatari, am the greatest Pendulum duelist in Maiami City!”

“Says who?” asked Serena. 

“Serena!” Yuzu hissed. “Why did you have to do that?”

Shingo chuckled. “It seems like you’re in need of an introduction. Ready?”

With a snap of his fingers, Ootome, Kakimoto and Yamabe were on their knees, arms outstretched.

“Praise the great Neo-Sawatari!” The three said as Shingo posed, leaning on one leg, arms stretched out as he ran a hand through his hair.

“That’s right,” Shingo announced with a cat-like grin. “No more old Sawatari, I’m the one who swings into action. I’m the main attraction with an eye for fashion! Who can ever make such a dynamic reaction?! That’s right, the one and only...”

He snapped his fingers again and his lackeys shouted, “The Great Neo-Sawatari!”

“Oh, don’t be so modest,” Shingo chuckled, spinning around as if he was skating on ice. “Because I’m just simply the best. And it is in your best inte_ rest _ to remember my name! Shingo Sawatari!”

“The Great Neo-Sawatari!” His personal cheerleaders repeated.

“Look in awe, Serena,” said Shingo, stretching his hand out to Serena. “For this is the face of the one who will save our dimension from GAAAAHHH!!!”

Shingo dropped to his knees, hands over his crotch from Serena driving her boot right between the legs. Ootome, Kakimoto and Yamambe looked in horror as Serena slammed her foot onto the ground.

“Who’s next?” she said.

Yuzu wiped an imaginary tear and burst into laughter. “I...I’ve never been so proud of someone before.”

“Newsflash, Sawatari,” said Serena. “One, you’re not the greatest Pendulum duelist in Maiami City, that would be Yuya Sakaki. And two, just tell me where Lancers Orientation is so I can talk to Masumi and Yaiba!”

“And why does someone like you need to talk to those two?” asked Mamabe.

“Yeah, those two aren’t in the mood to talk, seeing that they aren’t with their buddy Hokuto,” Kakimoto added. “Masumi promised that she was going to make her monsters slice and dice whoever turned him into a card.”

Serena winced as if that name could actually hurt her. “Well, that’s the thing…I actually know who carded him.”

“You do?” asked Shingo. “How would you know such a thing?”

“Because…” Serena answered with a loud gulp. “I carded him.”

“What?!” Shingo said. “You carded him?”

“It was an honest mistake,” Serena explained. “I thought he was a fugitive from the Xyz Dimension and I thought that by carding him, I would be contributing to Academia’s goal in making a unified uto -- “

“Wait, you’re from the Fusion Dimension?” Shingo interrupted.

“Y-yeah...I am,” Serena said looking away. “But I’m really sorry for what I caused and I just want to tell Masumi and Yaiba the truth. So please, let me go see them.”

“...Well, I was going to go and do that like a proper gentleman. But….” said Shingo with a crooked grin on his face. “This changes _ everything _! Get her boys!”

“What?” Both girls asked surprised.

With a snap of his fingers, Kakimoto, Yamabe and Ootomo proceeded to tackle her to the ground. Serena struggled, snarling as she drove the heel of her boot to Yamabe’s shin before bringing that boot forward to kick Ootomo in the chest. Kakimoto was the last one, and she snarled before performing an uppercut right at the jaw.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Yuzu asked, watching Serena trying to punch and kick her way out. Not even being in a dress slowed her down.

“Those from the Fusion Dimension are our enemies, right?” Shingo asked, watching Serena be blindsided by having Yamabe trip her over and then subsequently pinning her to the ground. Serena struggled, doing all she can to push him off of her or even kick _ him _ in the crotch, but Kakimoto and Ootomo grabbed onto her legs so she couldn’t get up.. “So, what’s to say I don’t just turn you into Reiji and see what he makes of you?”

Yuzo gritted her teeth before she kicked Yamabe in the head and swiftly pulled out her harisen to rapidly attack Kakimoto and Ootomo, the two having to stumble back and shield their faces with their arms, brandishing the paper fan like it was a sword.

“I don’t think so! No one hurts my little sister, If you want her you’re gonna have to go through me!” Yuzu shouted standing in front of Serena, arms stretched shielding her. Serena was a little confused on it; she herself could easily fight Shingo off no problem.

“Sister?” Shingo asked. “You don’t have a sister!”

“Yeah, well I do now!” 

“Yuzu…” Serena whispered.

“What’s going on?” All five teens froze and looked at the source of the new voice, seeing Yuto and Shun standing there, Yuto looking clearly pissed off, and Shun glaring daggers at the 4 boys. 

“Yo-you! Fake Yuya!” Shingo yelled, and Yuto’s eye twitched in anger, making Shingo take a step back. “I...I mean…”

“Yuto,” Yuzu whispered. “Shun…” 

“You, Xyz guys!” Shingo snapped, pointing to Serena. “See that girl?”

“Yeah,” said Shun.

“Well, that girl is from that school that destroyed your home, right?”

“Right.”

“Then why are you standing there?! Grab her before she sends in back-up!” 

“...You know, just when I think you can’t sink into more stupidity, you prove me wrong,” Yuto grumbled. 

“Huh?! What’s that supposed to mean?” Shingo asked. 

“I already met with Reiji,” said Serena. “And he’s made me an official Lancer.”

“WHAAAAT?!” Shingo exclaimed. “You? A person from Academia got in before even I did?!”

“Who are you to even be concerned with this Lancers project anyway?” asked Serena.

“Who am I? Who am I?!” Shingo shouted. “I am the son of the mayor of this town, young lady! And I can call my father right now to have you arrested for assault! Not just on me, but also for my friends! I’ll make sure that you never see the light of day one way or another.”

_ “That prick!” _ Joey grumbled, floating a few feet away from the scene. “ _ God I thought Weevil was more annoying.” _

_ “That was nothing compared to those two brothers with plans for world domination I had to contend with.” _ Seto remarked. _ “Now, how are they going to get out of this...huh?” _

Seto’s eyes widened slightly when he noticed Yuto looking at the three of them.

_ “Something wrong, big brother?” _Mokuba asked. 

_ “We’re still invisible to everyone, right?” _

_ “Yeah...why do you -- “ _ Joey followed Seto’s glance. _ “Huh? Yuto? Right, Zarc’s son. I guess he can see us even if we didn’t want him to, just like his old man.” _

_ “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad…” _Seto remarked. 

_ “Something wrong, my prince?” _ Shun asked, seeing the look of shock on Yuto’s face _ . _

_ “I see three spirits around.” _ Yuto explained. _ “They don’t seem to be harmful, but I have no idea who they are or what they want…” _

_ “Spirits?” _

Yuto nodded. _ “Just pretend that they aren’t there. I’ll ask Father more about them later.” _

Serena grit her teeth as Shingo began to pull out his cellphone, ready to make the call. But before she could say anything, she heard Yuzu giggle.

“Huh?” asked Ookimoto. “What’s so funny?”

“You know what _ I _ can have you arrested for, Shingo?” asked Yuzu sweetly. “Attempted murder, for one.” 

“What?” asked Serena. “There’s no way this guy looks like he can kill someone.”

“Attempted murder on me, Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya,” Yuzu clarified. “Or do you not remember how you nearly made us _ fall to our deaths _ when you stole Yuya’s pendulum cards and made him duel you for them, Neo-Sawatari? Or the fact that you tried to _ attack _ Yuya even after he kicked your ass?”

“He just couldn’t admit that someone _ else _ was using his precious cards,” Shingo huffed.

And suddenly Shingo felt Yuto glaring _ murder _at him. 

“You stole his cards, you stupid coward!” Yuzu continued. “They were his, not yours! And you ended up putting all of us in fucking danger! Not only in the sense of ‘You could’ve killed us and you would have to face murder charges’, but also it was because of _ you _ that we nearly lost the You Show Duel School because you pinned your ‘attack’ on Yuya and not Yuto! I mean, look at Yuto! He doesn’t even have the same hair or eye color as Yuya, or even the same deck. And if that really _ was _ Yuya, wouldn’t he have used his Pendulum monsters instead of Xyz summoning?! Couldn’t you have used your brain for like 5 seconds? Oh wait no, that’s too much work for the ‘Great Neo-Sawatari’. Your brain would’ve been fried in two seconds, let alone five!”   


(Seto had covered Mokuba’s ears even before the F-word left Yuzu’s lips. Joey was snickering, covering his mouth with a hand.)

“How dare you talk to Shingo like that!” Kakimoto shouted.

“HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE YUYA OF ATTACKING SHINGO YOU STOOGES!” Yuzu shouted, brandishing her harisen. “I am so goddamn sick and tired of you acting like a prick, Shingo! And I’m also sick of your little ‘cheerleaders’ not knocking some sense into your head. Like, why are you even _ friends _ with this arrogant blowhard? Or were you just _ paid _to be Shingo’s personal self-esteem team?”

_ “Oh~ she did not just say that!” _Joey said with a gleeful laugh and Seto smirked.

_ “I wish I had popcorn!” _Mokuba added.

Serena dropped her jaw in shock, so did Shun and Yuto. Shingo looked like someone made him drink a cup of the most bitter coffee in the world. Ootomo, Kakimoto and Yamabe also looked horrified.

“How dare you…” Shingo snarled. “Who are you to say that to me?”

“I am the girl who is gonna kick your ass and maybe knock some sense into that inflated ego of yours!” Yuzu answered. “Shingo Sawatari, I challenge you to a duel! Let’s see if you’re all talk or if you can actually back this so called ‘greatness’ of yours.”

“Please, as if I wish to unleash my greatness onto the likes of you,” Shingo replied with a roll of his eyes.

“What’s the matter, McFly? Chiken?” Yuzu taunted.

Shingo’s mouth opened once more, and so did the mouths of almost everyone else who understood that reference.

_ “She did not just go there!” _said Joey.

_ “He is _ doomed _ .” _Mokuba added.

“Mc...who?” asked Shun, tilting his head.

“Oh I get it! It’s a movie thing!” Serena exclaimed happily.

“NOBODY CALLS ME CHICKEN!!!!” Shingo shouted. “You’re on, bubblegum bitch!”

“...Oh you did not just…” Yuzu hissed, clicking her teeth.

“Just one question,” said Serena.

“What is it now?” asked Shingo.

“Is that a movie reference or something?”

“No, it's a song reference. AND HE’S SO GOING DOWN!” Yuzu roared as a fiery aura surrounded her. “And we’re going to be dueling at the school you nearly made Yuya lose.”

“_ That _ place?” Shingo replied. “Ha! I accept. It’ll be even _ more _ satisfying when I do beat you in front of your boyfriend in that pathetic building of a school. 

“And to sweeten the deal, let’s make a bet, Yuzu. If I win, then I get your ‘little sister’ all to myself and have her arrested.”

“WHAT?!” Serena shouted.

“But if _ I _ win, you drop the charges and make your daddy write a big check to pay for You Show’s well-needed renovations.” Yuzu replied.

Shingo huffed. “You’re on!”

_ “Yuto...did they just say…?” _Shun asked.

_ “Yeah...Yusho Sakaki is Yuya’s adoptive father,” _ Yuto answered. _ “Yuya mentioned that the school lost most of its revenue after Yusho left. I didn’t know it was that bad.” _

“Off to You Show then,” said Yuzu leading all of them back to her school.

Yuto’s eyes widened a fraction as he now focused on Serena fully. He smirked slightly before heading with the group to the school to watch the show, Shun following him. 

_ “What did you see?” _ asked Shun. _ “More spirits?” _

_ “No,” _ said Yuto, noticing the black marks on Serena’s wrist. _ “Something even better. Serena doesn’t have her bracelet anymore.” _


	14. Chapter 8 (Part 3): Showstopper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're baaaaaack.
> 
> Enjoy guys.
> 
> And happy New Year, even If We're a day late.
> 
> A/N: This chapter's ending has been changed today 25/2/2020 because of the next chapter.

The group of seven people entered the You Show Duel school, and compared to LDS this school just seemed...humble. It was certainly smaller than the campus that taught Xyz, Synchro and Fusion Summoning and had multiple students taking their classes seriously. And from what was heard and seen within the school, not a lot of students attend it. Nothing seemed all that special or high tech, and only the outside with its strange shaped building and bright orange sign seemed to give it any character. 

Needless to say, the LDS students were not impressed. Shun, Yuto and Serena on the other hand, looked inside the building with awe. To Serena this place was precious to Yuzu and her father, _ Serena’s _father now, and she still couldn’t believe that she was accepted and adopted by such amazing and nice people like that so soon, and just after she had realized her mistake and tried to fix the mistake that she had done. 

Shun and Yuto looked in curiosity too. _ This _was the school Yusho taught at? The one that pioneered Action Dueling? They imagined many students hurriedly entering through the doors to learn about dueling...this...was the exact opposite of that. Small, empty, only a few posters of Yusho decorating the walls. How exactly did students learn to duel in a place like this?

The seven were all greeted by Yuya, Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya. The three kids were hiding behind Yuya and glaring at Shingo and his cheerleading squad. The feeling from Ootomo, Yamabe and Kakimoto was mutual, to be honest.

“What’s up with them?” Shingo asked noticing the three kids behind Yuya. One of them, Ayu, blew a raspberry at him before Yuya patted her head. 

“Oh nothing,” Yuya answered. “She just hasn’t forgotten the fact that you _ almost got them killed, _Shingo.”

“And you still haven’t apologised to us or Yuzu nee-san or Yuya nii-san about it,” Ayu said trying to glare but it came out more like a cute pout.

“Yeah, that was totally mean of you to do such a thing!” Tatsuya scowled. “And for stealing Yuya’s Pendulum Cards!”

“You could’ve turned us into pancakes!” Futoshi remarked. “You’re a big stupid meanie and you need to apologize!” 

“Well, seems children have more capacity for emotional maturity than you Sawatari,” Yuto commented coming to the forefront.

“Why you!” Shingo growled, ready to throttle Yuto. Thankfully his cheerleaders pulled him away before Shingo’s fist socked Yuto in the face.. 

“Yuto,” Yuya said blinking at his brother, not have expected him there at all, Shun being one step behind him. Yuzu blinked, wondering for some reason how Yuto is here before looking at her bracelet in alarm.

_ Every time Yuto and Yuya were near one another, my bracelet started glowing. _ She thought. _ But...why isn’t it glowing _ now _ ? _ _ And why does Yuya recognize Yuto so easily? Serena said that there are three counterparts, does that mean that the two of them have been together before? _

Ayu looked at Yuto then back at Yuya, gold eyes wide with shock. “Serena nee-san and Yuzu nee-san were right...Yuya nii-san _ does _have a dual ganger!”

“Doppelganger,” Futoshi corrected. 

“That too!” Ayu said. 

“Whoa…” said Tatsuya, looking at Yuto from head to toe. His and Yuya’s faced were completely identical, like Serena and Yuzu, when he was told about Yuya also having counterpart that looked so much like him he didn’t really believe that the similarity would be so glaring even with Yuzu and Serena as examples. 

“Dopple what now?” Yuto asked and Yuya blinked at the kids. 

“Doppelganger, it says that if you meet yours, you’ll die!” Futoshi explained. Both brothers blinked at him and turned to look at each other. 

“Yuzu and Serena told us that it’s not true,” Tatsuya said in a hurry. “Um...is it?”

“Yeah, it’s not true, Yuto’s not my doppelganger,” Yuya answers. “A doppelganger is a stranger from somewhere far away who’s life mirrors yours and looks exactly like you; twins and people from other dimensions can’t be classified as doppelgangers.”

Yuto looked at him strangely from the corner of his eye.

“Uh Yuya, why do you know that?” Yuzu asked, raising her eyebrow. 

“You do remember what my mother’s favorite pastime is right?”

“...ok true… I resend my question.” Yuzu answered.

“Um…” Serena raised her hand. 

“Yoko-san likes horror movies and for the sake of your sanity Serena _ don’t _accept her offer to a movie night,” Yuzu explained.

“O...kay then…”

The three kids then turned to Shun and gasped. “What’s he doing here?” asked Tatsuya, scurrying behind Yuya.

“He’s with me,” said Yuto. “Don’t be afraid, Tatsuya. Shun won’t hurt you.”

“He hurt Sora though,” Ayu replied. “But then again...Sora was the evil one.”

“How could he be so evil?” Futoshi questioned. “He was so nice and sweet and loved sweets…”

“You can’t judge people just by the deck they use to duel with,” Shun replied. “I’m really sorry that you had to learn about this though.”

“Is it true though?” asked Ayu. “About Heartland? Your home? Did you really suffer like that?”

“Yes, I do,” said Shun, feeling like someone stabbed him in the heart. Looking at Ayu is like looking at a younger Ruri afraid of the dark when the storm has cut out the power. “Mean duelists who use Fusion did this, hunted down many people in my dimension like it was a game. They were all turned into cards, trapped in darkness for all eternity given to their king in an attempt to make all the dimensions one.”

Tatsuya, Futoshi and Ayu clung onto each other, tears in their eyes as Yuzu pulled out her _ harisen _, ready to smack him across the face within five seconds.

"But don’t worry,” Shun hastily added. “We're gonna be like knights to stop the evil king from hurting others and everyone will be free and no one will ever decide to use Fusion to hurt others ever ever again.”

“I don’t know about ‘never using the fusion part’,” Yuya mumbled.

The trio calm down a little, Yuya patting their, before Shingo and his friends slowly started clapping their hands in applause.

“Good story but do get the ending straight,” Shingo stated, pulling a rose from his pocket. “_ I’m _ going to be the one who lays the final blow on this evil king.”

“Where did he produce the rose from?” Serena asked.

“I’m not allowed to say where in front of the kids,” Yuzu answered eyes twitching in annoyance. “But he can shove it right back where he got it from. 

“Yeah I’d like to see _ you _get passed the first wave of Obelisk Force,” Yuto murmured. 

“Even with those Pendulum Monsters you used, all you did was give us more trouble,” said Serena. “And don’t bother saying ‘I was the reason why you survived the attack’ because it was Gongnezaka and Shun who used their brains to stop the three Obelisk force guys. If anyone should be considered the true hero of the duel it’s Gongenzaka.”

(And somewhere in Maiami City, Gongenzaka sneezed.)

“Are you trying to downplay Neo-Sawatari’s greatness?” asks Ootomo.

“No, I’m just stating my honest opinion,” Serena replied with a shrug of her shoulders..

“I’m denying the existence in that greatness personally,” Yuzu replied. 

Yuto rolled his eyes, as the bickering contained in the background before Tatsuya came closer to him. “Hmm?” he asked.

“H-hi,” Tatsuya began, looking at Yuto’s Duel Disk. “So you’re one of Yuya’s counterparts right?”

“Yeah that’s right,” Yuto said smiling slightly at the boy

“And you specialize in Xyz?”

Yuto nodded. “You do know how that works, right?”

“Of course I do!” Tatsuya answered, looking up with a bright grin on his face. “You need two monsters with the same Level and then you build the ‘Overlay Network’ to summon the Xyz Monster. The monsters used for the summoning become Overlay Units that help the Xyz Monster. You then ‘detach’ an Overlay Unit to activate the Xyz Monster’s effects”

Yuto smiled. “That’s correct. Perhaps you’ll learn to master Xyz summoning one day?”

“Maybe,” Tatsuya replied. “But I think I wanna learn Pendulum Summoning like Yuya.”

“You can learn more than one summoning method,” Yuya said, patting Tetsya’s head with a smile. “It’s hard, but I know you kids are bright enough to do it if you set your hearts on it.” 

“Maybe you’ll be able to teach us!” Tatsuya replied. “I mean, you already know how to Xyz Summon and Fusion Summon and even Pendulum Summon too! Maybe one day you’ll learn Synchro also?”

“Well, funny you should mention it. Mom is actually learning Synchro from Yugo -- “

“Yoko-san is learning Synchro Summoning?!” Ayu gasps. 

“Yeah she is. She wanted to update her deck and decided Synchro is her best option. She loved the idea that in the Synchro Dimension, people duel while riding motorcycles.”

“Card games on motorcycles?!” Ayu exclaimed.

“Amazing!” Futoshi added. “Wait a second, what was with Yoko punching those Asterisk Force people?”

“_ Obelisk _ Force,” said Yuya, looking at Shingo as he added, “Yeah she really wanted to go back to her days as Shooting Star Yoko where she and her biker gang started beating people up left and right and anyone who was stupid enough to mess with her learned a lesson they would never forget.”

“You’re lying,” Yamabe stated. “There’s no way your mom was a biker.”

“No, no it’s true,” said Serena. “You know that fisherman in the tournament? Yeah he didn’t believe it too until she actually appeared behind him and gave him such a terrifying smile that he promised to never call Yuya a clown again. I was both terrified and amazed at Yoko-san being capable of fighting toe-to-toe with some of Obelisk Force’s best. They’ve had years of military training and Yoko just flips them in the air without worry.”

“Hmph,” Shingo replied. “Cute story but that doesn’t have to do _ anything _ about why we’re here now is it? 

“Yeah we’re here to duel so come on,” said Yuzu. “The sooner I beat you, the sooner I can kick you out and this school get the check from your dad.”

“That’s only if your _ Fusion Summoning _ manages to get through to my new and improved deck!” Shingo boasted. “Lead the way, Zuzu.”

Yuzu sucked her teeth as she lead everyone to the duel arena in the back. As she did, Yuya choked the minute he noticed what Shun was wearing around his neck.

_ Yuto...isn’t that Father’s?! How did you get that? Why is Shun wearing it?! _ Yuya asked with panic.

_ It is, and I asked Father if I can have it. _ Yuto explained. _ I went back to the dimension where the Spirits and our castle was banished and got it from there using the Shadow Realm. He is my treasure completely and fully now. Forever mine. He’ll never refuse a command from me again! _

The delight, possessiveness, lust and love in Yuto made Yuya shiver and his cheeks to turn bright red. Oh god, why _ now _?

“Are you okay, Yuya nii-san?” Ayu asked, tugging at his shirt.

“Y-yeah, I’m uhh... a little cold I guess that’s all,” Yuya stammered, taking a deep breath and letting it out. The worst thing about having a mental bond with your brothers? Certain emotions just bombard you unwanted and unexpectedly. You just can’t stop the assault on your senses or hide the effect they have. 

Yuya could hear Yuto giggling in his head. _ You’re so pretty when you blush Yuya, it’s adorable. _Yuto cooed.

Yuya groaned. _ You know, Yuto? One day, I’m gonna get back at you and seduce you myself. _

Yuto giggled in his mind again. _ Can’t wait for that, my love. _

Yuya then darted his eyes towards the three figures -- all male , one a child the others in their late teens with dragon wings -- and raised an eyebrow. _ So… are we gonna talk about the three Duel Spirits hanging around or..? _

_ Oh yeah them. Honestly they’ve been doing nothing but follow Serena and Yuzu and switching from insulting Shingo to the one with brown hair who looks like Critias making plans to attack Academia. Apparently, he was the one who originally built the Academy and knows all kinds of secret passages there. Also he’s on a war path to murder the ‘old’ staff or something. _

_ And do you know their names or...? _

_ Seto and Mokuba Kaiba and Joey wheeler. _

_ Why do these names sound familiar? _ Yuya thought. Then, it hit him. _ Wait...Kaiba…Kaiba Corp.! That’s the CEO of Kaiba Corp! The one who made the duel disk and revolutionized the game, and Vice-President are following you? And Joey Wheeler... wasn’t he one of the best duelists from Domino City that was known for his incredible luck? That’s you guys? _

_ “You got that right!” _ Joey remarked, before his eyes widened and he clapped both hands in front of his mouth. _ “Oops…” _

_ ”You let us hear you on purpose,” _Seto frowned. 

Yuya wanted to chuckle. _I did._ _Wow you really _do_ look like Critias and Hermos and now you have dragon wings. What’s up with that, and why are you following Serena and Yuzu? _

_ “Your father wanted us to keep an eye on them, particularly Yuzu, if something bad happened to them or they learned something they weren’t supposed to.” _ Mokuba explained. _ “Seto’s been...kinda angry since last night after learning what that Professor has done to his school by the Dragon Vassal of the Colorless Void.” _

_ “And all the stories that have happened in it!” _Seto added.

_ “Dragon Vessel of Colorless Void?” _Yuya asked.

_ “He calls himself Johan too.” _

_ ...What happened in the school? _Yuto asked.

Seto’s eye twitched and it looked like steam would erupt from his ears like a kettle full of hot water. 

_ “WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?!” _ Seto shouted, nearly causing the two brothers to cover their ears. _ “Of all the bullshit I had to learn: vampires, ancient pharaohs with ‘undefeated streaks’, Dueling Tarzan, a giant who threatens other students by covering themselves with multiple uniforms, a bunch of thieves disguising themselves as ‘staff’ from the school, and a seance to unleash Jinzo?! Gods, why does _ everything _ I touch become a magnet to the supernatural?!” _

_ “Says the guy who tried to venture into the underworld and give his little brother a heart attack for _ one more stupid duel!” Joey remarked. _ “I’m still not forgiving you for that. You know how close I was from getting my soul devoured?!” _

Yuya and Yuto couldn’t help but look at each other in bewilderment. 

_ We need to know the full stories. _said Yuya with a deadpan expression.

_ Yes, yes we do. _Yuto agreed.

** _If Haou ever came around, remind me to ask him to tell these stories. _ **Zarc said with a chuckle.

** _“HAOU?” _ **Came the shout from all these present in the conversation.

_ “You mean the Supreme King of that Dark World?” _ Joey questioned. _ “How would he know such a thing?!” _

_ “...Don’t tell me.” _ Seto groaned. _ “He’s the ‘Slifer Slacker’ who saved everyone isn’t he?” _

**_Indeed._** **_I’m sure you remember him quite well, Seto. Weren’t you the one who sent his cards off into outer space? Where one of them became corrupted by the Light of Destruction? What was their name again? Oh...that’s right. It was Yubel!_**

That made Seto and Mokuba look in shock. “_ Yubel?!” _

_ “Uh, is that another one of Zarc’s sons or something?” _Joey questioned.

** _You’ve already met her Joey, She goes by Alaam at the moment. _ **

_ “Alaam...Alaam...Wait a second, you mean she’s one of those witches like Serenity?!” _ ** **

** _Indeed. _ **

At that Joey groaned. He didn’t want to recall that moment when he found Serenity all right, except as a Duel Spirit, strips of cloth covering her eyes and her outfit like that of a witch. She was so happy to see him again and then began to ask what happened to the others: to Tristan, Duke, Téa...it broke his heart when he told her that none of them made it.

_ “Is Haou here at the moment, Father?” _Yuto asked. Things must be serious if Father was mentioning the human Supreme King.

** _Not at the moment, no, but I’m sure soon enough Judai will seek me out to collect something rather...important._ **

_ “Judai?” _ Mokuba asked _ . _

_ “I thought his name was Jaden Yuki, though I could be wrong.” _Seto frowned.

** _Jaden is what he goes by in this life, and the previous one. But in the first life, back when we still had our kingdom, in this world, he was called “Judai”. _ **

Shun raised an eyebrow at sensing Yuya and Yuto having a conversation with one another but said nothing. It wasn’t his right to speak up on the matter.

_ “You really think he’ll be here soon?” _ Yuya questioned.

_ What could be so important for the Supreme King himself to cross dimensions, and not just send a servant to do it? _Yuto questioned.

** _The same reason you, Shun and Yugo came here in the first place, my dear phantom. He’s here for his loved ones. He would want to obtain them for himself._ **

Neither Yuya nor Yuto said anything about that, Yuto grabbed Shin’s hand and squeezed it shut. Shun nodded his head.

_ “I’m always with you, my prince.” _Shun whispered.

It was at that time that they entered the viewing room to the You Show Duel’s School Duel Arena. Shuzo, finishing up a phone call, turned to the group of people, particularly Shingo, and sighed. “Let me guess, you’re here to duel Yuya?”

“No, dad, he’s dueling me,” said Yuzu. “And if I win, Shingo’s dad has to write a check for repairs.”

“Really?” asked Shuzo. “That’s much more than what Reiji or his mother did for us, making us duel in order to save our school from being destroyed because of something Yuya didn’t do.”

“That attack on Shingo was all my fault, “ Yuto announced beside Yuya. He approached Shuzo and bowed. “I’m sorry, I really had no idea about the trouble I would put you guys through. I was only looking for answers in regards to Academia...”

“Oh,” said Shuzo, staring at Yuto then at Yuya. “Y...you’re uh…”

“This is Yuto, my Xyz Counterpart,” Yuya introduced before motioning to Shun. “And this is Shun, also from the Xyz Dimension.”

“Right, you two are from the Xyz Dimension and Shun isn’t actually from LDS while Sora’s a spy from the Fusion Dimension…” Shuzo said, scratching his head. “Okay, I’m still wrapping my head around the different dimensions and all.” 

“They come from a place not unlike own, their dimension ravaged by ones who hail from Fusion, like her,” said Shingo, jerking a thumb at Serena. “Shuzo Hiragi, don’t you find it odd that you’re not screaming your head out at how there’s an evil twin version of your daughter and OW!!!!”

“Serena is not my evil twin, she is my sister!” Yuzu clarified, swiping Shuzo upside the head with a hand. “And dad already knows about her. In fact, she’s planning to adopt her!”

_ “Adopt her?!” _Everyone in the school except Shuzo and Serena repeated.

“That’s so cool!” Ayu exclaimed. “Serena nee-san, will you be attending school here, too?”

“Don’t get your hopes up, kid,” Kakimoto said, glaring at the girl. “The Fusion girl only gets to stay here if Yuzu wins her duel...which she won’t.”

“Yeah, those girly flower fairies are nothing compared to Neo-Sawatari’s Pendulum monsters!” Yamabe snickered.

_ Are they the Yosenjus? _asked Yuya, recalling his duel against Shingo. Those weasels were pretty tricky to fight, particularly how they send cards back to the deck.

_ No. _ Shun answered. _ He calls them ‘Abyss Actors’. They’re all about using something called ‘Abyss Scripts’ but that’s all I got before Gongenzaka gave them to me to use. _

“Wait, what happens if Yuzu lost?” asked Tatsuya.

“Don’t tell me you’re letting your dad buy our school,” Futoshi gulped at Shingo. Ever since he nearly fell out of that tower, he’s had a crippling fear of heights (or rather, falling from very high places)..

“Oh no, no, no…” said Shingo, wagging a finger. “I won’t ask Father tor something like that...but I _ could _ mention to him that I got _ assaulted _ by Serena and have her _ arrested _ for attacking someone as grand as me then probably revoking her Lancer privileges so that -- “

“YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!” Shuzo yelled, causing the children to look in shock Shuzo never lost his temper; not even when Himika offered a large sum of money for the school did he sound like he wanted to rip someone’s head off.

“Dad, it’s okay,” Yuzu said calmly and confidently Shuzo looked at Yuzu slightly surprised. “I won’t let him harm Serena no matter what, I _ am _going to Take. Him. Down.”

“Yuzu...Such a fiery spirit in you!” Shuzo sobbed, hugging his daughter. “I’m so proud. So very very -- “

Yuzu whacked him on the head with her _ harisen _as a warning.

“You’ll do great Yuzu,” Yuya said. “You can win I know it.”

“Do it, Yuzu nee-chan!” said Ayu. “Beat him for putting us all in danger!”

“And pinning Yuto’s attack on Yuya!” said Tatsuya.

“Give Shingo the shivers!” Futoshi added.

“Yeah!” All three kids cheered and Yuzu smiled looking at Serena who mirrored her own expression all while nodding at Yuzu.

“Oh look at that,” said Shingo. “Well, you’re not the only one who can have people cheer them on. Ready?”

“Beat her up black and blue, Neo-Sawatari!” Ookimoto shouted.

“She’s got nothing that can stop her!” Yamabe added.

“Tear up those flowers with the might of your Pendulum monsters!” Kakimoto yelled.

_ “These three make me realize how much I missed your friends,” _ Seto remarked to Joey. _ “At least the support they gave was genuine.” _

“Wooow….” Serena noted. “How _ original. _”

“Let’s just duel already,” Yuzu said. 

“The cheerleader squad is gonna get on my nerves soon,” Yuto whispered to Yuya gritting his teeth. 

“Careful now,” Yuya whispered unconsciously leaning at Yuto, and Yuto in turn put his hand around Yuya’s shoulder “If you get too angry you might electrocute them.” 

“...Might not be too bad of an idea,” Yuto remarked playfully with a smirk. 

Minutes later, Shingo and Yuzu faced each other in the Duel Arena. The rest wthatched e duel on a monitor with Seto, Mokuba and Joey watching with interest and Joey and Mokuba making bets as to who would win.. 

Yuto grabbed Shun's arms gently and placed them on his shoulders before leaning on the older boy, Shun licked his lips before wrapping his arms around Yuto. Ayu, Tatsuya and Futoshi looked at them strangely.

“Um…” Ayu began. “Why are you two doing that?”

"Because I love him and we want to," Yuto answered, Shun didn't meet the kids’ eyes, but merely squeezing Yuto in the hug a bit tighter.

“Guys, get a room!” Ookimoto mocked.

“There are _ children _ present!” Yamabe added.

“What would your _ mothers _think if they saw you acting so indecent?” Kakimoto cackled.

"They're hugging, what's your problem?" Yuya remarked. “You guys never had _ your _mothers hug you in the past? Or did they just drop you off with apathetic babysitters who placed you in front of the television?”

“But they're not…” Ookimoto squeaked before he was interrupted with Yuya glaring at him.

"Yeah, they're boyfriends, so what? Get over yourselves and keep these holes you call mouths shut before I kick_ all of you out _!" Yuya snarled, eyes suddenly flickering with a crimson glow like blood. 

The kids blinded at Yuya's anger. He never seemed to be that forceful with people. Even after Shingo stole his Pendulum Cards did he decide to beat Shingo to a pulp.

Yuya huffed and looked away from Shingo's cheerleaders. Yuto had a soft smile on his face looking at Yuya.

_ You didn't have to do this you know, they're idiots. _Yuto said, rubbing Shun's arm.

_ No one makes fun of my friends and they especially _ don't _ make fun of my beloved brothers. _ Yuya replied. _ And I’ve been wanting to tell these assholes what was on my mind for a while. _

He heard Yuto giggle in his mind. _ Love you too Yuya, _ Yuto said before leaning more into Shun's embrace. _ And I love _ you, _ my treasured knight. _

Shun smiled before nuzzling into Yuto’s cheek all while Serena looked sad about it. These types of bonds weren’t displayed in the school; even if they were, they were probably in secret. Would things be a little better if a little love was allowed? She grabbed her wrist, where her new tattoo was, a new reflex she was developing when she was anxious or unsure of things anymore.

Back in the duel arena, Shingo had that smug smirk on his face while Yuzu looked determined to tear him apart.

“So your Fusion was capable of standing toe-to-toe with Masumi,” said Shingo. “But just having _ two _ Fusion monsters isn’t enough to call you a master at all! Compared to me and how _ all _ the actors that rest in my deck are Pendulums!”

“That means that if they get destroyed or he sacrifices them, he can keep summoning them back without trouble!” Tatsuya gasped.

“Be careful, Yuzu!” Futoshi yelled.

“All right then!” said Shuzo on the second floor, preparing the computer that would generate the Action Field. “We have actors and we have angels coming together in one place...so let’s bring out a stage that brings the two together! Action Field: Grand Guignol!” 

With a click of a few buttons, the Duel Arena began to change into a theater...or rather what happened if the only place to build a theater was to make it work around a chapel. The boxes for special viewing looked more like one would go to confess their sins. The orchestra pit was being watched by angels with downcast eyes. The designs on the wall were of a Gothic design. Even the seats for the audience to sit on were pews.

“What is this place?” asked Serena. “It’s a...theater...or is that a...church?”

“This is the Theater of the Grand Guignol!” Shuzo announced. “Originally an old church in the dark and dirty streets of Paris, this became converted into what was known as the ‘Theater of the Grand Puppet’. It was said to have produced over a thousand plays that ranged in tone from delight, horror, fantasy and terror! The actors and directors would even have a game to decide how successful a show was depending on how many members of the audience fainted!”

“That’s kinda scary…” Ayu whimpered.

“This gives me goosebumps…” Futoshi shivered.

“Why does this school even have an Action Field like this?” Tatsuya questioned. Everyone else shrugged their shoulders.

“Now then!” said Shingo. “All eyes on me, I’m going to be the one who steals the show!”

“Says you!” Yuzu remarked. “Within these haunted halls, my chorus of Melodious monsters will shed light upon this theater!”

“A theater is nothing without actors. Your fairies will be perfect for singing my praises soon enough!”

“The only song they’ll be singing is the song of victory once I kick your ass!” Yuzu shouted. “Let’s Duel!”

**Shingo: 4000**

**Yuzu: 4000**

Action Cards rained from the ceiling like stars, signaling the start of the duel.

“This is my school and I’m the one who challenged you, so I’ll take the first turn,” said Yuzu, drawing a card. She needed to Fusion Summon Bloom Diva out as fast as she could so that Shingo’s attacks get thrown back at him. Now if only she could make him eat his own words. “I’ll start by summoning Opera the Melodious Diva in Attack Mode!”

With a light hum, a fairy with pink hair, sparkling blue dress and lavender wings rose onto the field. She giggled, placing a hand to her lips. (LV 4, 2300 ATK)

“Opera can’t attack on the turn she was summoned,” Yuzu continued. “But her 2300 attack points should be enough to stop you in your tracks. And just in case, I’m playing one card face-down to end my turn.”

“Hmph, an amateur move from an amateru duelist,” said Shingo, running his hand through his yellow bangs as he saw Yuzu slip a card into her Duel Disk. “Now, let me show you how a _ true _ duelist performs. I draw!”

He drew his card before a wicked smirk appeared on his face. “Now then, let’s put on a show! I play the Field Spell called Abyss Playhouse - Fantastic Theater!”

Slipping the card into the Field Spell slot, the card depicting various Abyss Actors standing in front of their theater at night under a full moon, with lights shining everywhere, balloons in the shape of bats flying into the sky and multiple stars and spotlights shining. The Abyss Actors were happily advertising their play, some with posters and one manning the box office.

Soon, the interior of the church began to gain a makeover as if ready for producing plays for Halloween. The stained glass windows now had images of cemeteries, ghosts, pumpkins and dead trees. Banners depicting images of Abyss Actors decorated the confession stands. Stars decorated the ceiling. And, for some odd reason, at the corner of the church was a tree that bore jack-o-lanterns as fruit.

“Whoa….” Futoshi gasped. “This is...amazing! It’s like a Halloween Theater Party! I wish we could go trick-or-treating right now!”

“I’ll explain what this beauty does later,” Shingo said. “I mean, don’t want to give the twist too early, do I? But for now, I’ll set the Pendulum Scale with my Scale 0 Abyss Actor - Mellow Madonna and Scale 9 Abyss Actor - Twinkle Littlestar! It’s time for this duel to swing my way!”

He placed the two cards onto his Duel Disk, Mellow Madonna on the left and Abyss Actor on the right as the word ‘PENDULUM’ lit up in rainbow font.

“What exactly do these Pendulum monsters do?” asked Ayu.

“I don’t know,” Serena answered. “All I know is that they work in tandem with something called ‘Abyss Scripts’ but nothing else.”

Then, the two monsters appeared on the field, rising into the air with the numbers ‘0’ and ‘9’ beneath their feet. The one on the left, Mellow Madonna was a woman with blue skin and pink shoulder-length hair with yellow bangs swept to the right. She wore a slinky black dress with a large cut to show off her legs. She looked quite stunning, the only thing off about her being her skeletal hands with the nails painted yellow and filed to a point. Meanwhile, Twinkle Littlestar looked to be about half her age in a blue and pink dress whose skirt circled her like the rings of Saturn and long purple sleeves trimmed with pink lace. She work stockings -- one teal and chartreuse the other blue and pink -- that ended with blue furred boots. Topping her magenta hair was a purple witch hat with a little black winged creature tucked into the brim. 

“Wait a second,” said Tatsuya. “If Shingo’s monsters allow him to have a Pendulum Scale between 0 and 9…”

"He can easily summon monsters from Level 1 through 8!" Yuya said nodding. He was so used to having a monster with a Pendulum Scale of 1, so seeing that there was now a Scale _ 0 _ meant that Shingo could summon any monster he wanted.

"Yuzu nee-chan might be in trouble..." Ayu gulped. 

“Time for the first act!” said Shingo. “From my hand I’m Pendulum Summoning the Level 7 Abyss Actor - Superstar, the Level 4 Abyss Actor - Leading Lady and the one and only Level 8 Abyss Actor - Evil Heel!”

With fiendish laughter, the rumbling of thunder and flash of lightning, three spotlights shone down in front of Shingo. Then, a trio of Abyss Actors appeared in a shower of confetti right in front of Shingo with wide grins on their faces. 

First was the Abyss Actor Shingo summoned against Obelisk Force: Superstar. He was thin with ash grey skin and wore a black “suit” with flared hips and a red vest. His hair swirled up, covering his left eye while his right eye was black with a yellow pupil. He bowed towards Yuzu and her Melodious Diva with a smirk on his face. (2500 ATK)

Next was Leading Lady. Her skin was pale and she had green curly hair braided into two pigtails with bangs that covered her left eye -- showing a light green insignia of a ‘D’ with wisps of smoke next to it -- and her golden eye winked at the crowd. She dressed like a witch in a purple dress with orange and purple leggings ending in cyan crackoes. She wore a matching cyan cape with fluffy trim and topping her head was a purple witch hat with orange bats. In her left hand she wielded a whip which made a nice _ crack _ when she lashed it against the floor. (1500 ATK)

Finally, there was Evil Heel. Serena and Shun remembered this monster as one of the Pendulums Shingo used. It was a monstrous violet being with a body like an inverted pear and tiny bat wings. On the right side of his body , for lack of a better term was a red insignia like that of Leading Lady and the left side had a white protrusion of a circle for a face with two red beady eyes staring back. On the fingers of his right hand, there were two gold rings on its pointer and ring finger. He wore a gold bracer on its left arm and green bracelets on his left wrist. Aside from that, the only article of clothing he wore was a pair of lavender pants and black boots. He grinned, like someone unzipping a jacket, exposing a green tongue and jagged red teeth. (3000 ATK)

“I don’t get that last one,” said Futoshi. “That guy doesn’t have bad feet.”

“‘Heel’ is a wrestling term,” Yamabe replied. “It basically means who is playing the role of the bad guy in the fight.”

“Then isn’t that kinda redundant?” asked Serena.

“Maybe it’s just to show off how _ evil _ he is,” Ayu replied.

“I activate the effect of Abyss Actor - Superstar!” said Shingo. “Once per turn, I’m allowed to take an ‘Abyss Script’ Spell Card from my deck to my hand.”

Abyss Actor - Superstar raised his right hand into the air where a large yellow orb hovered above. The orb disintegrated before revealing a book with a yellow bat on its cover.

“But I’m not going to play it yet,” said Shingo. “Not when I can use this! I activate the Pendulum Effect of Abyss Actor - Twinkle Littlestar! Once per turn, she lets one of my ‘Abyss Actor’ monsters attack _ three times _ in a row. The only downside is that the other monsters won’t be able to attack. Now then, which monster should take the stage? Oh, I know!”

Twinkle Littlestar giggled before she produced three stars above her head. She then spun around and blew a kiss, causing the stars to fly towards Evil Heel and kiss him. The large bulky fiend chuckled as he flexed his muscles.

“Evil Heel has 3000 attack points!” said Shun. “Opera only has 2300. If Yuzu’s card isn’t something that can save her then…”

“She’s going to be bodyslammed!” Futoshi shuddered.

“All right then!” said Shingo, snapping his fingers. “Evil Heel, why not give Opera a Heel Turn! Go for the first attack!”

Abyss Actor - Evil Heel charged toward his opponent spinning around and readying his foot to strike Opera in the face. 

“Not so fast!” said Yuzu, slipping a card from her hand to the graveyard. “I send Score the Melodious Diva to my hand and activate its effect! When you battle a ‘Melodious’ monster, sending this card to the graveyard drops the attack and defense points of your monster all the way to 0!”

“But if she does that, Shingo’s monster gets destroyed!” said Ootomo.

Shingo frowned as a ghostly image of Score -- a young girl with teal hair with pink _ odango _ with a long white ribbon trail with a matching white dress with a high collar like a lotus flower and a purple skirt -- appeared with a wink before she looked at the music in her hand and threw it straight at Evil Heel. (3000 -) 0 ATK)

“Counterattack, Opera!” said Yuzu. “Send him back!”

Opera raised her hands into the air as a pink shimmering ball of magic appeared. She spun around before hurling it at her opponent, causing Evil Heel to stumble back before he collapsed onto a pew and shattered.

**Shingo: 1700**

**Yuzu: 4000**

“Amazing!” Serena gasped. “That’s already more than half of his lifepoints gone!”

“But wait…” said Yuto, noticing that Shingo didn’t look so surprised to lose a 3000 attack point monster on his first turn. “He’s not upset that he lost such a powerful monster?”

“No, because he can easily summon it back from the Extra Deck as long as he has his Pendulum Scale on the field,” said Yuya.

“Nice try,” said Shingo with a chuckle. “Too bad that I had a trick up my sleeve! I activate the effect of Abyss Actor - Leading Lady! Since battle damage was inflicted, I can select one monster and lower its attack equal to the battle damage. You only have one monster and 2300 points of damage was inflicted…”

“Which drops Opera’s attack down all the way down to 0!” Yuzu finished, realizing what Shingo was planning.

“Exactly! Now, Leading Lady...get your gun!”

“But she’s wielding a whip,” Serena pointed out as Abyss Actor - Leading Lady lashed her whip out at Opera, striking the fairy four times. Opera screamed as a particular one socked her in the stomach. (2300 -) 0 ATK)

“That was a smart move,” said Tatsuya. “Shingo knew that Yuzu would try to decrease Evil Heel’s attack somehow. And since he can Pendulum Summon Evil Heel on his next turn, Yuzu will be defenseless against him if he tries that trick with Twinkle Littlestar again.”

“I end my turn with a face-down card,” said Shingo, bowing down before looking up at Yuzu. “Back to you.”

“I draw,” said Yuzu, drawing her card. Upon looking at what she saw, a big grin formed on her face. This will work!

“I summon Crystal Rose in Defense Mode!” she shouted, placing the card onto her Duel Disk.

Rising onto the field was a beautiful red rose cared out of crystal. (500 DEF)

“That’s the card Masumi gave her!” said Ayu. 

“Yeah, Yuzu’s gonna be summoning her most powerful monster soon!” Tatsuya added.

“Really?” Yamabe chuckled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Futoshi, only to be met with Kakimoto and Ootomi also joining in on the secret joke.

_ I’m not liking this at all. _Yuya thought, noticing how Shingo didn’t look too surprised at Yuzu’s move.

“I activate the effect of Crystal Rose,” said Yuzu. “And I’ll use it to send a ‘Melodious’ monster in my deck to the graveyard. Then, my Crystal Rose will be considered that monster as long as it’s on the field. So I’ll send Elegy the Melodious Diva to the graveyard so Crystal Rose is now Mozarta until the end of this turn.”

A spectral image of Elegy -- an Melodious Diva with green hair and a forlorn look on her face -- appeared above Crystal Rose...before the image shattered into pixels in front of everyone’s eyes.

“Not so fast!” said Shingo, wagging his finger. “The effect of Abyss Playhouse now activates! When you activate the effect of your monster while I have a Pendulum Summoned ‘Abyss Actor’ on the field, I can change its effects to now say that it must destron one of my face-down Spell or Trap Cards.”

“What?!” Yuzu gasped.

“And it just so happens that the card that’s face-down on the field is my Abyss Script - Fantasy Magic Spell Card! And when it’s destroyed while I have a face-up ‘Abyss Actor’ monster in my Extra Deck, I select a card you control and place it on top of your deck! So say goodbye to Crystal Rose for the time being!”

Shingo’s Spell Card shattered before revealing a black book with a golden bat in its center. The book fell into Abyss Actor - Superstar’s hands who read through it carefully. Then, a wizard’s outfit of a black cloak with gold epaulets and a black wizard’s hat with purple trim topped his head. He then raised his hand into the air and casted a spell, causing Crystal Rose to leave the field and its card to go back to the top of Yuzu’s deck.

_ Without Crystal Rose, I don’t have the monsters needed to Fusion Summon! _ Yuzu gulped. _ I have to defend myself right now! _

“I activate my face-down card, Melodious Rhythm Change!” said Yuzu. “Now I can swap a ‘Melodious’ monster on my field with one in my hand. So I swap Opera the Melodious Diva for Aria the Melodious Diva!”

Yuzu’s face-down card flipped, revealing Opera the Melodious Diva tagging in Tam-tam the Melodious Diva. Opera is showered with light before she is replaced with a pink-skinned fairy dressed in a maroon dress with an orange rose-like skirt and wore pink nylon stockings decorated with black music notes. She also had short purple hair and an orange bass clef mask covering the left side of her face. She fluttered slightly with her orange harp-like wing before she kneet in prayer. (1200 DEF)

“All right!” said Yuya. “Since Aria was Special Summoned, this means that she can’t be destroyed in battle or targeted card effects!”

“I’ll play one card face-down,” said Yuzu, slipping another card into her Duel Disk. “And that’s my move.”

“My turn again?” said Shingo, drawing his card. “Don’t mind if I do! Now I activate the effect of Abyss Actor - Superstar once again to take another Abyss Script to my hand!”

Abyss Actor - Superstar raised his hand into the air once more before another Abyss Script appeared. He tossed it to Shingo who stared at it with a smirk. “Perfect!” Shingo announced. “This will work quite well indeed! But first, I’m Pendulum Summoning Abyss Actor - Evil Heel once more!”

With a burst of confetti as Shingo’s Pendulum monsters bowed towards the audience, the Evil Heel rose with a wicked grin on his face. (3000 ATK)

“And I’m not done!” Shingo continued with a spin. “Now I play my Abyss Script - Opening Ceremony!”

Shingo played another Abyss Script card showing a purple book slightly open with the background showing a large gate made out of balloons with cyan pillars with other colored balloons made to resemble flowers.

“This card gives me 500 lifepoints for every ‘Abyss Actor’ monster I currently control. I have three of them on the field, so I gain 1500 lifepoints here and now!”

The three Abyss Actors on the field applauded as a spotlight shone above Shingo’s head and confetti fell down from the sky, raising his lifepoints.

**Shingo: 3200**

**Yuzu: 4000**

“And that’s just the beginning. Here comes the fun with the Abyss Script - Abysstainment!”

Shingo’s next Spell Card was a Continuous one, depicting an open Abyss Script where the arm of a blue-skinned fiend emerged from a portal within that book. In its red claws was another script with a blue and gold cover and a purple spiral.

“This Abyss Script is a very powerful one,” Shingo explained. “By offering up an ‘Abyss Actor’ I control, I can Set an ‘Abyss Script’ from my graveyard onto the field. And don’t think that it’s a one trick pony, Yuzu. I can use this effect _ twice _ per turn!”

_ Oh no! _ Yuzu thought. _ If I activate a monster effect, Shingo’s Field Spell will make me destroy one of face-down cards. And if it’s Fantasy Magic again, it’ll return the monster back to the top of my deck! _

“Ohhohoho….” Shingo chuckled. “You’re starting to understand what I’m planning! Now I offer Abyss Actor - Leading Lady to Set an Abyss Script from my graveyard onto the field! What type of show will this be? A drama? A tragedy? An epic dedicated to me defeating the Fairy Queen? Who knows?”

Leading Lady bowed to Yuzu before a face-down card appeared in her hand, to the left of Abysstainment.

“Now it’s time to strike! I activate Abyss Actor - Twinkle Littlestar’s Pendulum ability to allow Abyss Actor - Evil Heel to attack three more times!”

Again, Twinkle Littlestar showered Evil Heel with three pink stars.

“All right Abyss Actor - Evil Heel…lift me!”

Shingo raced toward Abyss Actor - Evil Heel, who dropped to one knee, locking his hands into a step before Shingo stepped on it before Evil Heel lifted Shingo up into the air.

“What is he doing?” asked Serena.

Everyone looked up, seeing the angels and their stony gazes look down upon the duel as if making judgement.

“Wait a sec!” said Ayu, pointing to one of the angels. “There’s an Action Card!”

And it was true. One of the angels had a card in their clasped hands which Shingo grabbed easily before he fell back onto the floor with a forward flip and landing in the arms of Abyss Actor - Evil Heel. The Abyss Actors on the field cheered and applauded him all while Shingo hopped onto the floor and bowed, soaking up the applause.

“Wonderful!” Ootomo shouted.

“Spectacular!” Yamabe cried.

“Remarkable!” Kakimoto exclaimed.

“Ta-dah!” said Shingo, revealing his Action Card. “I activate the Action Card - Spear Carrier! This allows me to choose a monster I control to inflict piercing damage on your defensive monsters. And since I can only have _ one _ monster attack _ three times _ this turn…”

Yuzu gulped as she saw the Action Card, revealing a black stick figure wielding a spear before a large spear appeared in the hands of Abyss Actor - Evil Heel who wasted no time aiming it at the defenseless Aria.

“Go Evil Heel! _ From Hell’s heart, he stabs at thee! _”

Evil Heel raced towards Aria, spear above his head, ready to thrust it deep into her heart.

“I activate my face-down card, Draining Shield!” said Yuzu. “This negates one of your attacks and increases my lifepoints equal to the negated monster’s attack score!” 

A glowing blue barrier protects Aria from the first strike and fills Yuzu with renewed energy.

**Shingo: 3200**

**Yuzu: 7000**

“You only saved yourself once,” Shingo remarked. “I still have two more attacks! Get her, Evil Heel!”

Evil Heel grinned once more as Yuzu looked for any Action Card that would save her lifepoints. She spotted one by the large cross behind her and began to race towards it, just barely being caught by Abyss Actor - Superstar trying to snatch her ankle as she raced towards the steps and grasped it. At the same time she did that, Evil Heel had stabbed Aria twice, the fairy gasping in pain but still standing.

**Shingo: 3200**

**Yuzu: 3400**

“Shingo nearly took off 4000 lifepoints from that attack!” said Tatsuya. “If Yuzu didn’t have that Draining Sheild, she would’ve lost for sure!”

“That won’t stop me,” Yuzu panted. “I play the Action Card - Damage Draw! Since I just took more than 2000 lifepoints worth of damage, I get to draw two cards.”

Yuzu played her Action Card, showing two cards on a red splat background, and drew two more cards, giving her a hand of five.

““Why can't you just stay down?” Shingo asked. “You know I'm going to defeat you! I mean, _ I'm _ the one with Pendulum cards, a monster that will gain the ability to attack you three times per turn and every single time you'll activate a monster's effect, my Field Spell will change it so that you destroy my Set Abyss Scripts and benefit me! Don't you see, Yuzu? _ I'm _ the star! _ I'm _ the one who will come out victorious! I don't know why you think yourself so special because you learned how to use Polymerization but if you think that Spell Card is going to change a thing then it won't! You're still going to lose, and you're going to lose your _ pwecious baby sister _ too! Doesn't that hurt?! Doesn't it, Yuzu Hiragi?”

“I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t,” Yuzu admitted. “I’m afraid that I’m not strong enough, that I will never be strong enough to protect the people that I love, that I’ll be a liability instead of help.” 

She saw Shingo’s unwavering smirk, and clenched her hand and teeth. She felt the feeling of hopelessness rise in her. How would she be able to stop Obelisk Force and their smug attitude of being better than everyone else because of their superior skills in Fusion Summoning if she couldn’t even defeat _ this _ annoying prick? 

“Don’t give up, Yuzu - nee-chan!” Ayu shouted.

“You can do it!” said Tatsuya. “You beat Masumi after all! And she wasn’t a pushover!”

“Just because he uses Pendulum monsters doesn’t mean he’s invincible!” Yuya added, knowing first hand that his Pendulum cards meant jack squat against his duel with Reiji. _ Come on, Yuzu. You gave me a way to reinvent Pendulum Summoning; I know you can do even more. _

“Give it up, Yuya,” Yamabe sneered. “Your little girlfriend is facing her swansong right about now.”

Yuya was about to yell at the three of them before he was interrupted by Serena just grabbing Yamabe, pulling on his tie and glaring at the green haired boy with the fury of a tiger. “Oh would you all just shut up?! Yuzu is strong, stronger than you lot are giving her credit for. She’s going to defeat Shingo. I know she can!”

“S-serena…” Yuzu said looking back at her Fusion counterpart. No, Serena wasn’t that. She was her _ sister _. 

Serena let go of Yamabe turned to Yuzu. “ Listen, Yuzu! This isn’t just an Action Field,” she shouted. “This is No Man’s Land! Are you going to let Shingo get away with this? Make his monsters prevent you from crossing and reaching your goal? You’re stronger than this! Better than this! Believe in your own power, in the love you have, and you will win this!” 

And for emphasis, Serena crossed her arms over her heart (left arm over right) in a manner Yuzu knew so well. But to everyone else, they were kinda confused.

“Why is she doing that?” asked Tatsuya. “Is it some sort of thing that happens in that school of hers?”

And then there were the laughs from Shingo’s posse.

“What’s a pose going to do?” Ootomo taunted, imitating Serena. “Ooh, look at me! I’m sending waves of love and hope! I’m so _ awesome _!”

Serena grit her teeth, not caring what they thought. She’s endured the jeers and laughter from Academia students who thought themselves better than her, but that was because they assumed she was weak and pathetic and naive. But this wasn’t about them or her right now; this was about being by Yuzu’s side. Yuzu understands what this meant and that’s all that matters. 

Ayu looked at Serena then at Yuzu before she nodded her head and copied Serena. “I believe in you Yuzu nee-chan, Serena nee-chan!” She shouted, arms raised over her head. “You can beat him!”

Yuya smiled, hearing “No man’s land” and seeing Serena and now Ayu making that pose, he remembered one of Yuzu’s favorite movies and looked at Yuzu. Beautiful, strong, determined Yuzu, full of warmth and love. 

“Go Yuzu!” Yuya yelled, also joining Ayu and Serena. “You can save tomorrow and even the world!”

Yuto blinked at his little brother but smiled and kept watching the duel, recalling the praise he gave Yuzu for why she learned Fusion Summoning: to help others, to heal, to protect. Wasn’t that such a more noble cause than to just one-up someone? The love and adoration Yuya had for Yuzu reminded him too much of Ruri and it didn’t take him that much time to join his little brother.

Shun also felt something stir in his heart upon seeing Yuzu’s determination; when he first saw Yuzu Fusion Summon, all he could see was someone with his sister’s face spitting on him and everything he strived to do to save Ruri. But his mind changed slightly at the end when Yuzu’s Bloom Diva rescued Masumi from a terrifying fall. Despite her rivalry towards the LDS Fusion expert, Yuzu was still a compassionate and caring person (which was confirmed when Yuto sent him a memory of him and Yuzu discussing her desire to know Fusion Summoning).

So, in spite of himself and the idea of Ruri making him never live this down if she saw it, Shun crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Huh?” asked Serena, confused as to why Shun was joining in. “Shun?”

“What the hell are you doing?” Kakimoto asked, turning to Shun. “This girl uses Fusion; you _ hate _ Fusion! We all saw how you roasted that other student of this school, Sora Shiunin. Why are you supporting her?”

Shun merely smirked and didn’t answer them. They weren’t worth his breath; he only needed to support Yuzu, someone he deeply respected. Even though he hated Sora for teaching Yuzu how to Fusion Summon, Yuzu wasn’t like him or those from Academia. She was better, always _ would be better _ than those who followed Professor Akaba. Fusion can be used for good, can be a beautiful thing. Yuzu showed him that, and Shun was happy to have learned that lesson from her.

“If you guys are gonna support Yuzu like that, I will too!” said Tatsuya, mimicking the move.

“This is giving me shivers in a good way!” Futoshi said, also having his arms crossed over his chest. 

And up in the control room, Shuzo joined in, crying hot-blooded tears. The first time he saw that particular scene when Diana defeated Ares all while stating that she believed in love, he burst into louder tears than Yuzu did. Whether you were a man or woman didn’t matter; showing such hot-blooded emotions was a good way to tug at his heart-strings.

Invisible to everyone, Joey enthusiastically joined in with his arms over his heart, recalling Téa and Tristan being there to encourage him and Yugi on. 

Yuzu smiled, fighting back the tears falling down her face. Her sister, her father, her friends, the people she loved by her side supporting her, trusting her believing in her. She immediately crossed her arms back, eyes closed, heart filled with warmth and determination. This was the power of love, the power to trust in yourself for them, the belief that no matter what they will be there for you, in sadness and happiness, they would stand by her side through it all, and for them, for them she would win!

Yuzu felt something shine inside of her, something awakening, deep down, she reached into her soul, a calmness and determination filled her, and she was able to think without fear once more, focus on the duel before her, power bloomed. _ Deep inside I’m alive, for my love I’ll survive, I won’t regret, making a sacrifice tonight. _

But still, even with this determination and love and support while it made her feel better, it didn’t necessarily equate to making her draw the right cards to win the duel.

_ Shingo is right... _ Yuzu thought, opening her eyes and looking at her hand. _ Even if I drew her now _ , _ I can’t summon Soprano or else her effect will change and will destroy whatever face-down card he just played. Fusion Summoning is the only thing I can do, and here Yuya is capable of both Fusion _ and _ Xyz Summoning… _

_ I learned Fusion in order to help my friends, but now I’m unable to do anything with it. What do I do? What do I do?! _

_ “Oh come on kid, is that all you got?” _

Yuzu’s eyes widened at the second voice in her mind. _ “Wait...what?” _

Yuzu blinked before seeing a faint light in her Extra Deck. With a press of a button on her Duel Disk, the display showed her numerous cards. Schuberta the Melodious Maestra, and Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir as usual...but now there was a new monster…

An _ Xyz _monster. 

She had no idea where it came from but she could use her all the same, and she was grateful for whatever force gave the card to her. And with the experience of seeing how Xyz Summoning worked from Yuya and Yuto with two Level 4 monsters to unleash dark dragons that whittled away at a monster’s attack score, to Shun’s wrath as she unleashed his Raidraptor - Revolution Factor and Dennis unleashing a showman’s flair with Performage - Trapeze Artist, she knew that if they could do it, she could do it too.

_ The duel is far from over! _ Yuzu thought to herself. _ The fun has just begun! _

…

…

…

It was like a snap, pure electricity going through their souls. Yuya and Yuto felt it all too soon before their father’s presence had gone stiff, and before they knew it the bond with their Father was slammed shut, and it felt like steel doors were slammed in the back of the four boys’ minds. They flinched and held their heads in pain.

“Yuto?” Shun asked in concern, keeping Yuto steady as he’s had him in his arms while Yuya fell on one knee. “Yuya!”

“Yuya nii-chan!” The three kids called in alarm, and Serena looked worried, the tattoo on her wrist was glowing faintly, feeling like bile was rising in her throat. The feeling was soon gone, and Serena felt slightly light headed as she placed a hand on her forehead.. 

Yuya looked at the three kids and nodded his head. “I’m fine, you three,” he said with a small smile, The presence was gone, but he and his brothers knew that Father was upset right now. He never wanted to let his sons feel his negative emotions unless he wanted them to know that he was angry with something that they did, which was in itself a rare thing to happen. Father had spoiled the four of them; while they had lessons and duties as princes, Father would never have denied them anything that they truly wanted unless it was dangerous for them, and even then he found a compromise. 

Father was upset now though, and he wasn’t a wrathful angry, he was surprised, he was sad, and he was heartbroken the moment the presence was there, even for a split second. It made him remember a time back when the worlds were one, when Father’s heart broke and refused to let the four of them in. He didn’t think their Father garnered any feelings for Ray but hatred and anger; he clearly was wrong. 

_ “My prince?” _Shun asked, rubbing Yuto’s arms. Yuto leaned on his chest for a second before letting out a breath and turning to Yuya, offering his hand which Yuya took, and both squeezed their hands together as reasurince. 

_ “We’re fine, Father just needs a moment.” _Yuto explained.

_ “Lord Zarc is…” _

_ “Father is a little upset, but it seems Ray disappeared. At the moment it’s best not to confront her and Yuzu seems too focused on the duel to have been told anything.” _

_ “I...don’t think I understand why...” _

_ “I’ll explain later,” _ Yuto answered, slowly exhaling. _ “Right now, let’s let Yuzu show how much power Ray has at the moment... _

…

…

…

“I’ll start my turn by summoning a brand new Melodious onto the field,” Yuzu announced. “Come forth...Mezzo-Soprano the Melodious Songstress!

A new Melodious monster with long aquamarine hair set in waves and crystal blue eyes covered with a pair of glasses. She wore a yellow and black dress with turquoise buttons up on front like smooth stones. Adorning her neck was a necklace made of pearls and a single strand of aquamarine hair covered her left eye. (1500 ATK)

“I’ve never seen that monster before,” said Ayu.

“Me neither!” said Tatsuya. 

“I activate my monster’s effect!” said Yuzu. “When Mezzo-Soprano is summoned, I’m allowed to change the levels of all ‘Melodious’ monsters between 4 to 7. And I’m going to choose 7!”

Mezzo-Soprano hummed three notes as four stars appeared above her and Aria’s heads. 

“Did you forget the effect of my Abyss Playhouse?” asked Shingo. “The effect now is changed to destroying one of my face-down cards. And when Abyss Script - Opening Ceremony is destroyed I’m allowed to draw until I have five cards in my hand!”

Shingo’s face-down card shattered as he drew five more cards, fanning them out with a devilish grin on his face.

“Your cards won’t save you now,” Yuzu proclaimed. “Next, I’m Special Summoning Canon the Melodious Diva!”

A new monster with lavender skin rose onto the field with a twirl and swirling rainbow-colored music notes. She had spiky blue hair and wore a blue blouse with pink puffed sleeves and a purple waistcoat. She also had a dress with a blue and black diamond pattern on it and gold accents on her knees and arms along with matching golden shoes. Covering her eyes was a gold mask. (2000 DEF)

“And I still have a Normal Summon, so Opera will take her place on stage once more!”

With a twirl of her blue dress, Opera rose onto the field once more. (2300 ATK)

_ Four Melodious monsters on the field at once _ ? Serena gasped. _ What is she planning? _

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, with my Level 4 Melodious Divas Aria and Mezzo-Soprano on the field...I build _ the Overlay Network _!” Yuzu shouted.

“What?!” Shuzo shouted.

“Overlay Network?!” Tatsuya and Futoshi repeated.

“Yuzu nee-chan’s _ Xyz Summoning _?!”.Ayu asked, eyes wide as sand dollars.

Yuya and Yuto exchanged a look before their eyes returned to the duel and Shun and Serena stared with wide eyes. Shingo, Ootomo, Yamambe and Kakimoto also gawked, recalling that moment when Yuto Xyz Summoned back at the warehouse.

It was true. The black Overlay Network emerged onto Yuzu’s side of the field as Aria and Mezzo-Soprano held hands and leapt into it, transformed into glowing streaks of yellow light like shooting stars. Yuzu crossed her hands over her heart, pink hair billowing with the breeze made from the Overlay Network.

_ “Beautiful fairy who composes the songs of the heart, raise your baton to the air and touch the souls of all with your supreme genius! Xyz Summon! Come forth! The unrivaled artist! Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra!” _

Rising onto the field from the Overlay Network was an ebony-haired Melodious monster with side ponytails clipped with bass clef clips. Matching her black hair was her elegant black dress with transparent sleeves and a matching black skirt that fell to her ankles. Rose-red ribbons covered the front and back of her dress and she wore equally red shoes glittering with golden music notes. Her golden eyes were covered in green make-up and she has black eighth notes painted on her cheeks. In her right hand, she wielded a baton that showered the field with pink glittering mist while two yellow Overlay Units circled her. (1800 ATK)

It was a familiar monster to the boys, especially to Yuya. They had watched many a duels with Ray using her against her opponents. 

_ That’s so cool! _ Joey exclaimed. _ Okay, I need one of those types of monsters for Red Eyes Black Dragon. _

“What?!” Shingo shouted. “Since when did you learn Xyz Summoning?”

“That doesn’t matter! What does is me being able to beat you down!” Yuzu declared. “Now for Vivaldina’s effect! For every Overlay Unit on Vivaldina, she grants all Fairy monsters I control 200 attack and defense points! Since there are two Overlay Units on her, that’s an additional 400 attack and defense points!” 

Vivaldina hummed as the stats of the three Melodious monsters rose. (Vivaldina: 1800/1000 -) 2200/1200, Opera: 2300/1000 -) 2700/1200, Canon: 1400/2000 -) 1800/2400)

“And here’s her second effect,” Yuzu declared. “By detaching one of her Overlay Units. I get to draw a card from my deck. And if that card is a Level 4 or lower ‘Melodious’ monster, I get to Special Summon it onto the field. Here goes!”

Vivaldina tapped one of the Overlay Units with her baton and watched as it shattered into golden pixie dust while the stats of the Melodious monsters dropped by 200. Yuzu inhaled as she placed her hand on the top of her deck and swiftly drew a card. She then looked at it before smiling and showing the card to Shingo.

“It’s Soprano!” Ayu gasped. “Her Polymerization monster!”

“But Yuzu doesn’t have the proper Fusion Materials to Fusion Summon Bloom Diva, only Schuberta!” Tatsuya pointed out. “What is she going to summon now?”

“This is giving me shivers!” Futoshi added.

“I Special Summon Soprano the Melodious Diva!” Yuzu announced. “And when Special Summoned, I’m allowed to take a ‘Melodious’ monster from my graveyard back to my hand!”

Soprano rose onto the field as Yuzu retrieved the card for Aria back into her hand. The blindfolded Melodious monster said nothing, but instead she smiled at what was to happen next. (1400/1400 -) 1600/1600)

“And now, I’m going to showcase a brand _ new _ Melodious Fusion! I activate Sonata’s effect to fuse her, Opera and Canon together!”

Sonata, Opera and Canon rose into the air, turning into three beams of blue, pink and orange light that seemed to sing within the halls of the church/theater.

_ “Now my Melodious maidens, blend your voices together and be guided by the strokes of the baton into a new angelic hymn! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Prolific master of the written verse! Level 5! Haydina the Melodious Maestra!” _

The three glowing figures fused into one being, surrounded by a shower of flower petals. Light shone from her fingers and the tips of her angelic wings. She dressed for a ball, her dress being colored pink and yellow that went up to her knees. Her left arm and hand were bare, barring the colorful rings on her fingers, and her left shoulder was decorated with a large white lily. In her bare right hand, she wielded a brilliant baton which she tapped against her long honey hair that swirled like a spiraling tower. A long strand of this hair fell down her left shoulder while her pink eyes radiate love and sweetness. (2100/1200 -) 2300/1400 ATK)

Yuya and Yuto once again looked in shock. It was one thing to see that Xyz Melodious monster, but Ray also gave Yuzu _ that _ particular monster too?

“Haydina’s effect!” Yuzu shouted. “For every Fusion Material used to summon her, she grants all other ‘Melodious’ monsters I control an additional 300 attack points! Since I used three Melodious Divas, all ‘Melodious’ monsters will gain 900 attack points!”

Haydina waved her baton as Vivaldina’s attack score rose once more. (2000 -) 2900 ATK)

“Now Vivaldina, attack Abyss Actor - Superstar! Symphonic Shockwave!”

Vivaldina spun round and round before during a blast of pink music notes from her baton at Superstar.

**Shingo: 2800**

**Yuzu: 3400**

“You may have stopped him, but I’ll just activate my Leading Lady’s ability to reduce Vivaldina’s attack equal to the battle damage inflicted this turn!” said Shingo. “So say goodbye to 400 attack points, Baldy!”

“It’s Vivaldi!” Yuzu snapped.

Leading Lady struck Vivaldia with her whip, the cracker striking the Xyz monster’s cheek. (2900 -) 2500 ATK)

“I’m not done,” said Yuzu, showing off another card. “Now I play Spell Card, Photon Lead! This allows me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower LIGHT monster in my hand! So I’m bringing back Aria the Melodious Diva!”

Her next Spell Card showed off two familiar LIGHT Fairy monsters -- Shining Angel and Nova Summoner -- flying amongst storm clouds. Emerging from the card was Aria, hands crossed over her heart. (1600/1200 -) 2700/1400)

“And I’m ending my turn there,” said Yuzu.

“Wait a second,” said Ayu. “If all of Yuzu’s monsters are so strong now, why didn't she attack them?”

*Yeah she could’ve inflicted more damage onto Shingo’s lifepoints with Aria alone!” Tatsuya noted.

“My turn then,” said Shingo, drawing his card. “Now then, it’s time for me to Pendulum Summon once again! I’m bringing back Abyss Actor - Leading Lady and summoning them for the first time this duel, the Level Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian and Level 4 Abyss Actor - Wild Hope!”

Three monsters appeared on the field with a spotlight for each of them. First was Superstar with a frown on his face. (2600 ATK) The second was Funky Comedian, another monster Shun and Serena were familiar with, which was a pale yellow skin tone and wore small vest that covered the upper half of his torso while the bottom half protruded out in two large bulges that had the Abyss Actor insignia on the left. He wore a pair of orange shorts and brown shoes along with a brown fedora on top of his head. For a ‘face’, he had a similar white circle with a pair of eyes like that of Evil Heel except on his right and a wide happy smile. He also had four arms, each of them decorated with two brown bracelets. (300 ATK) The third monster had purple skin and dressed like a cowboy in a Western with a blue-violet coat and leather chaps. He wore an orange handkerchief around her neck and topping his head was a black cowboy hat with a yellow brim and decorated with skulls. His only other accessories were two yellow bracelets on his wrists. Just like any sharpshooter from the West, he wielded a gun, albeit one with a round blue barrel and yellow muzzle that looked more like a toy than a genuine weapon. (1600 ATK)

“Next I activate the effect of Funky Comedian! He gains 300 additional attack points for every ‘Abyss Actor’ I control. So since there are five stars on stage right now, that’s an additional 1500 attack points!”

Funky Comedian used each of his arms to drag the other four Abyss Actors to his side and the five began to laugh together. (300 -) 1800 ATK)

“And that’s not all! Now I can have Funky Comedian increase the attack score of _ another _ Abyss Actor monster I control until the end of this turn at the cost of him unable to fight. Guess who’s making a comeback?”

Funky Comedian released everyone except Evil Heel, his four arms giving the burly blue-skinned Abyss Actor a four-handed slap on the back. (3000 -) 4800 ATK)

“That thing’s stronger than any of Yuzu’s monsters!” Yuya gasped.

“And with Twinkle Littlestar’s effect, Yuzu is out in the open!” Yuto finished.

“Now then, Twinkle Littlestar! Let’s give Evil Heel a chance to make sure none of these girls kick out by the count of three!”

Twinkle Littlestar rolled her eyes before sprinkling three more stars on Evil Heel.

“I hate to tell you this, but Haydina can’t be destroyed as long as I have another ‘Melodious’ monster on the field,” said Yuzu. “And since Aria was Special Summoned, none of my Melodious monsters can be destroyed by battle.”

“But I’m not planning on destruction, only whittling down your lifepoints before I make the final blow!” said Shingo. “Because your Haydina doesn’t increase the _ defense _ of your monsters, now does she?”

“What are you implying?”

“I activate my Abyss Script - Shadow Spirit!” Shingo shouted. “Now every time one of your monsters goes into battle with an ‘Abyss Actor’ this turn, their attack score will equal their defense instead!”

“And Yuzu’s monsters have low defense scores as it is…” Shun noted.

Yuzu gasped at the new card, revealing an open book where the front and back covers depicted a smiling mouth and two blue arrows pointing in different directions. She had to get an Action Card _ now _.

“Now then, let’s start the fun! Attack Vivaldina, Evil Heel!”

Evil Heel raced towards Vivaldina as Vivaldina felt herself terrified to move. (2500 -) 1400 ATK) Yuzu began looking for an Action Card, racing towards one of the stained glass windows to find an Action Card pressed against it. Perfect.

Without missing a beat, she hopped onto one of the pews, raced to the ledge and leapt over it, snatching the card with a smile on her face.

“I activate the Action Card - Miracle!” said Yuzu. “That means Vivaldina survives but I take half damage.”

The Action Card of a black stick figure surrounded by stars was played just as Vivaldina was kicked in the stomach. But otherwise she stood still even as Yuzu’s lifepoints tumbled.

**Shingo: 2800**

**Yuzu: 1600**

Shingo clicked his teeth. “Second impact! Attack Vivaldina again!”

Evil Heel leaned forward, ready to shoulder tackle his target before charging at her once more. (Vivaldina: 1400 ATK).

Yuzu was light on her feet as she raced towards the marble bowl on top of a pillar -- where holy water would’ve been to bless people who entered the church -- and snatched another Action Card.

“Action Card - Evasion!” Yuzu shouted. “This negates the attack!”

The Action Card of a black stick figure avoiding a blue orb of energy appeared. Vivaldina swiftly flew into the air as Evil Heel crashed into three pews. Images of the Abyss Actors logo circled his head as he slowly rose up.

“Third strike, Evil Heel!” Shingo snarled. _ “GET HER! _”

Evil Heel shook his head as he grabbed Vivaldina’s leg and was ready to slam her onto the ground without pity or remorse. Yuzu looked up and found an Action Card floating above Evil Heel’s head.

“Yuzu!” Serena shouted. “Shield!”

Yuzu immediately knew what that meant and raced towards Evil Heel, whose back was bent like a stool before she leapt onto his back and jumped into the air. With bated breath, everyone watched as Yuzu reached out for the Action Card…

…

…

…

And gasped when she snatched it before landing into the arms of Haydina.

“She got it!” said Ayu. “She got it!”

“But is the Action Card going to save her?” asked Tatsuya.

“This is making me feel shivers all over!” Futoshi gasped.

“Action Card - Miracle Fire!” Yuzu cried. “I can use the effect of an Action Card that was played during this turn. And the Action Card I choose is Evasion!”

Yuzu’s final Action Card appeared, depicting a flame colored purple, green and red. It transformed into Evasion just as Vivaldina kicked Evil Heel in the face to avoid being slammed onto the ground like a ragdoll.

“I end my turn with one card face-down,” Shingo spat out, his hand now reduced to two cards. “But a bit of luck and some new cards won’t save you next turn!”

_ Who knows? _ Yuzu thought. _ At the very least I need to at least prove to him that I’m no pushover. Please, whoever was there to give me those cards...please let this duel swing my way! _

Yuzu drew her card and nodded. “I play Graceful Charity. This allows me to draw three cards but discard two to the graveyard.”

An angel in a green dress appeared above Yuzu’s head and showered green feathers onto her Duel Disk. Yuzu drew three cards, looked them over, then sent two to the graveyard.

“Now I summon Solo the Melodious Songstress in Attack Mode!”

Rising onto the field was a pink-skinned Melodious monster in a bright red dress with a blue undle skirt and golden diamonds dangling at the hems. She had white stocking and wore red dress shoes. Topping her head was a helmet with two G Clefs like wings. She sang a little tune to herself before twirling around. (1600/1000 -) 2700/1200)

“Then I place one card face-down and end my turn,” Yuzu finished, slipping a card face-down into her Duel Disk..

“I don’t get it,” said Yuto. “Why isn’t Yuzu attacking? Shingo’s Funky Comedian only gains attack points on _ his _turn. If Yuzu attacked him, then she wins the duel hands down.”

“I draw,” said Shingo, drawing his card. He looked back at forth all while talking to himself. “Now what shall I do?” Then, he snapped his fingers. “I know! I’ll have Funky Comedian have his stats increase and then give those all to Evil Heel and have Twinkle Littlestar give him three chances to attack!

Funky Comedian chuckled a little, rubbing all of his hands together before he slapped Evil Heel’s shoulder once more and Twinkle Littlestar tossing three stars onto Evil Heel’s head like she’s throwing tomatoes at a horrible act on stage. (Funky Comedian: 300 -) 1800 ATK) (Evil Heel: 3000 -) 4800 ATK)

“That attack didn’t work at all to stop me,” said Yuzu. “Why not try something new for a change?”

“It’s done me a good job of making you lose lifepoints and that’s good enough for me!” Shingo retorted. “Now then, Yuzu, everyone...are you ready for some Sweet Chin Music?!”

“Um...I don’t think chins make music,” Serena noted, causing Shingo to nearly fall on his side at how this girl just ruined his dramatic announcement.

There was an awkward pause from everyone else before Kakimoto, Ootomo and Yamabe started laughing, surprised at how the girl did not understand the reference.

“It’s a wrestling move, _ duh _!” Yamabe stated. 

“Did you grow up in a cave or something?” Kakimoto questioned.

“She grew up in a military base, so keep your mouths shut and leave her alone,” Yuto growled.

“And besides, maybe she doesn’t like wrestling at all!” Ayu said. “I don’t like it and I didn’t understand the reference either.”

And if Yuzu wasn’t busy with her duel, she would’ve had her _ harisen _ready to slap some sense into those three. 

Serena smiled gratefully at Yuto who gave her a nod. If it was a different her, one who didn’t care about the lives of those who use Xyz Summoning, she would’ve been annoyed by it. 

“You guys have your heads so far up your asses you really don’t get that people have _ other _interests than you,” said the Xyz prince, rolling his eyes.

“Yuto, language!” Yuya hissed, pointing towards the kids.

Yuto looked down at how Tatsuya, Futoshi and Ayu stared at him with wide eyes. “Oh...sorry.”

“All right then, Evil Heel!” said Shingo. “Let’s tune up that band right now!”

Evil Heel gripped onto a pew and stomped his right foot in a steady rhythm as the other Abyss Actors cheered him on. Then Evil Heel raced towards Solo, launching his leg back to deliver a kick to the chin.

“I activate my face-down card, Musical Mayhem!” said Yuzu. “And for every ‘Melodious’ monster I control, you take 800 points of damage!”

“Wait a second,” said Yamabe, seeing Yuzu’s face-down card lift. He remembered seeing Yuzu use that against Masumi in an effort to stop the Gem-Knight duelist from obtaining an Action Card. “4 Melodious monsters times 800 is…” 

“3200,” Shun calculated. “More than enough to reduce Shingo’s lifepoints to zero. Unless he gets an Action Card to negate the damage.”

A blast of bright light shot from the card, heading straight towards Shingo. Shingo began to look around, trying to find an Action Card amongst all of the numerous pews. Yuzu raced towards a confessional box, hoping to find an Action Card there.

_ Where is it? _ Shingo gulped, racing across multiple pews. _ Where’s an Action Card in this place?! Wait -- what’s that?! _

He found a card sticking out in one of the slots at the back of a pew and snatched it. However, when he looked at it, his eyes widened.

_ Encore?! _ He thought. _ But the only Action Card I can copy is Spear Carrier! This means -- _

Shingo looked in horror as the aurora borealis shined above his head. And just as fast as a bolt of lightning, he was struck down and fell onto the floor with a soft thud and the Abyss Actors bowed their heads in defeat.

**Shingo: 0**

**Yuzu: 1600**

“YUZU DID IT! SHE DID IT!!!!” Ayu, Tatsuya and Futoshi cheered as Yuzu popped out of the confessional box (which had no Action Card inside) to see the Melodious monsters being showered with confetti and applause from invisible spectators..

“Such a hot-blooded ending!!!!” Shuzo sobbed as the Action Field faded away and the monsters all took a bow for the curtain call. Yuzu sighed in relief; that was too close.

“Great job, Yuzu,” Yuya said coming with the kids along with Shun and Yuto to congratulate her. “You were awesome!” 

Yuzu sighed as Ayu, Tasuya and Futoshi continued to cheer at Yuzu’s victory all while she stared at Serena. She had to admit it, but if it weren’t for Serena giving her encouragement, she probably wouldn’t be standing.

And as she saw Serena place her hand over her heart, Yuzu’s eyes widened. Serena’s right wrist no longer had her bracelet; instead there was now an intricate tattoo that imitated a bracelet with a black crescent moon in the center.

_ What?! _ Yuzu thought. _ Where did her bracelet go? _

Before she get an answer to this, Shingo was heard growling.

“This...this was absolutely unfair!” he shouted. “I demand a rematch, Yuzu! Those cards you used just...just came out of thin air!”

“You have no proof of that,” Yuya said, knowing that Shingo was right but didn’t want to bring it up right now. “You don’t know all of Yuzu’s cards; she could have gotten her monsters from a booster pack. She beat you fair and square Shingo; regardless of where she got the cards, she knew how to use them.” 

“You better start calling your father about signing a paycheck,” said Yuzu. “Oh and you owe us an apology for that stunt you pulled!”

Shingo growled. “Well, Yuya...I supposed you’re quite glad that your little girlfriend only summoned _ one _ Xyz monster. That doesn’t automatically make her an expert duelist! Any old person can put two monsters of an equal level together to make something like that.”

(And Yuto and Shun were just inches away from strangling this idiot.)

“Well then, next time _ you _do it,” said Serena cheekly to Shingo’s irritation. “I mean, even an arrogant blowhard such as yourself should be able to do it.”

“And regardless Yuzu still beat you fair and square,” said Tatsuya.

_ “Well that’s a lie but we aint snitching.” _Yuto said, and Yuya exchanged a secret smile with him.

Shingo frowned. “Fine, I’ll get my father to pay the check. And okay, I’m sorry for my actions with that Actoin Duel.” He then turned to Yuzu and bowed. “It was… a good duel, Yuzu and you did win. 

Before Yuzu could thank him for the comment, Shingo was back to normal, running his hand through his blond bangs with a pompous air. “But this is not the end of it! Don’t assume that this one win will mean that you are better than Neo Sawatari! I’ll find a better way to defeat you next time! I’ll be the great Pendulum duelist ever and I’ll have everyone screaming my name!”

“You keep reminding me of all those blowhards I faced back at Academia,” Serena observed, glaring at Shingo. “Why are you so obsessed with being such a pompous prick? Want to impress your daddy? Or, better yet, your _ mommy _?”

And at that, Shingo froze. And so did his cheer squad. Everyone looked in surprise as the air in the room had become deathly cold.

“...What?” said Serena, noticing the odd looks. “It’s a legitimate question.”

Shingo balled his hands into fists and left with a huff. “I don’t have to explain myself to you,” he said before turning to the other LDS students. “Come on!” he barked. “We’re leaving!” 

Ootomo, Kakimoto and Yamabe just nodded their heads and followed Shingo out of the school. And, it might’ve been the shock of not seeing Serena’s bracelet on her wrist but Yuzu thought that Shingo’s eyes were brimming with tears.

“That was...different,” said Futoshi. “He looked like someone stabbed him with a knife.”

“If there was anyone who should’ve knocked him down, it was you Serena,” Shun remarked. “Never liked that guy in the first place.”

“Something seems a bit off with him though,” said Serena, looking down. 

“You’re right, maybe we should check on him,” Yuzu said. 

“Really? After everything he said and did?” Shun asked shocked. He would have punched the guy in the face and let him wallow in his patheticness if it were him. 

“I mean yeah he’s a jerk but that doesn’t mean we wanted to hurt his feelings. Whatever Serena said must have hit a nerve since Shingo leaving isn’t really his style,” Yuzu explained. “Come on. We better get going before we lose them.”

“Hello?” asked Yuya, placing his Duel Disk near his ear. He soon regretted it.

“DARLING!!!!” Mieru screeched. “Where are you?! Yoko-san has been kidnapped and Yugo is fighting to save her from evil bikers!” 

Yuto blinked. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” 

“I said Yoko-san has been kidnapped and Yugo is fighting to save her from evil bikers!” Mieru repeated.

“No, no, I heard that...I’m just trying to process that..._ what _ ? Why didn’t Yugo tell us?” “ _ Why didn’t Father?” _

_ “Uhh…..” _Yuya began.

_ “Yuya...why is Yoko-san kidnapped and why is Yugo fighting off to save her and WHY DO YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THIS?!” _

_ “Calm down Yuto,” _ Yuya said, rubbing Yuto’s arm comfortingly. _ “Mom just wanted to cheer Yugo up so she called in a favour from some of her old friends, they actually used to be my old babysitters. And I guess it slipped Yugo’s mind to tell us...or Father for that matter. _”

_ “Oh, is that all?” _said Yuto, sarcastically.

“Mieru, don’t worry about a thing,” said Yuya. “Mom is safe, but the bikers…might not stay that way if Yugo isn’t thinking straight. Where are they?” 

“At some abandoned arcade,” Mieru answered. “Yugo is fighting the leader of these bikers who uses a ‘Guardian’ deck with Equip Spells. But...something about him is strange.”

“Strange how?” 

_ “Wait a sec…evil bikers…Guardians.. Are they talking about Raphael, Valon and Alister?” _Joey exclaimed to Seto and Mokuba. 

“Mieru,” said Yuto, snatching Yuya’s Duel Disk. “How is this ‘biker’ playing his monsters?”

“He...has this strange tendency to make sure his Guardian monsters aren’t in the graveyard,” Mieru explained.

“And what’s his strongest monster?”

“Um...that depends,” Mieru explained. “He has one called Guardian Eatos...”

"And?"

"Well, that's the thing. When Eatos was summoned, she...she started _talking! _I know it sounds weird but you have to believe me. She called Yugo a prince and was trying to make him calm down but the Yugo..."

“We should go,” Yuya said, realizing what Mieru was talking about. Yugo must've also felt Zarc's connection being cut off from them. “Thanks Mieru, we’ll be right there.” He said. “Just hope no one gets hurt.” 

“It’s also pretty weird,” Mieru observed. “The other two bikers are really concerned for their leader; I don’t think they’ve seen this side of him before.”

“Did you use your crystal apple to see inside Raphael?”

“I did...and I saw...a strange six-pointed star in a glowing circle with strange markings, colored green.”

_ “Ohhhhh….crap.” _Mokuba pointed out and Yuya and Yuto looked in horror.

“I don’t think I follow,” Shun said softly. 

“It’s powerful, ancient..._ evil _!” Mieru exclaimed. “Just by looking at it, I could feel shivers crawl down my spine!”

“The Seal of Orichalcos….” Yuto whispered in horror.

Father had warned them about it, and the boys had studied some of the lore of that particular seal. The Leviathan was an ancient evil entity that desired to destroy civilizations, both humans and spirits alike taking control of a vessel through its mark, and swallows the souls of those who are caught in it, feeding on the darkness in one’s soul. Their Father had sealed it away after a humongous battle that destroyed countless lands. The Seal was part of the Darkness that he had dominion over, but after the five of them were sealed and crystalized it seems the Leviathan had taken ten thousand years to gather the souls it needed to break from its prison. 

Yuya gulped. To think that his _ babysitters _ were once corrupted by that dreaded Seal... 

“We’ll be right there, stay safe Mieru,” said Yuto.

“I don’t know how much longer I can -- Oh god. WHAT THE HELL IS -- “

And that was when the connection was lost. 

“Stay here with Shuzo-san,” Yuya said to Tatsuya, Ayu and Futoshi, all three of them shivering and clinging onto each other. “We’ll be back soon.”

_ “Yuto, we’re going through the Shadow Realm. We can’t waste anytime.” _ Yuya mentally told his brother. 

_ “Right,” _Yuto nodded. 

“Is everything okay, Yuya nii-san?” Ayu asked. 

Yuya smiled softly and ruffled her hair. “Of course, don’t worry about it.” 

_ “Yugo’s pissed, we should hurry,” _said Yuto. 

_ “Yeah.” _

_ “Come on Shun,” _Yuto called, and headed outside to get somewhere no one can see them leave, Yuto summoning a portal of darkness for the three to enter. Shun shuddered before entering the shadows after the two princes, the feeling of his soul being frozen in ice still there, and probably will always be.

“Give me your hand my love, it’s okay,” said Yuto, taking Shun’s hand and squeezing it. “You can transform into your armored form if it makes you feel better.”

“Armored form?” Yuya repeated. “Did you...”

“Yeah,” Yuto nodded with a smile, and Shun had his raven-like armour on in a blink of an eye. He did actually feel better now that he had something to protect him from the cold feeling in his soul. The armour was magic based made to protect from everything, be it the elements, dangerous hits, Light and Darkness, within reason, as in if the attacks become too much the armor would get damaged. But it was powerful nonetheless, an amazing gift from his prince. 

Yuya then remembered to ask about Shun’s outfit. “Where did you get the clothes you were wearing?”

“I, uh...kinda stole Yoko kaa-san’s credit card for me to purchase them,” Yuto admitted sheepishly.

“YOU WHAT?!” Yuya shouted. Yoko would kick Yuto’s ass for snatching her credit card to buy Shun’s new wardrobe.

“If she can afford my bracers, your collar, Yugo’s earrings and Yuri’s locket, all of the clothes she bought for Yugo and I, all of the groceries to cook dinner for us _ and _ a new deck for herself, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I spent some money on my precious treasure,” Yuto replied. “Also if Father allows us, we could take some things from the treasury and pawn them off. We have _ actual solid gold _ , Yuya. Think about it; just _ one _ of Father’s treasures could be used to help fix up the You Show Duel School! Make it just as high-tech and fantastic as LDS.”

“Yeah but…” Yuya rubbed his arm as they kept walking. “It...doesn’t seem right to use Father’s stuff for this. I want to _ work _ for my money; I don’t want to take the easy way. You know the old saying, ‘There are two paths in life, two roads to take. One of them is easy, and the only thing you get out of it is that it’s easy.’ I mean, I’d be no better than Shingo thinking that his money and father were what made him better than everyone else.” 

“Yuya, there’s no shame in using Father’s money, I mean you do really need it and the only reason we’re being taken care of so well is because Reiji had the decency to feel guilty about Yusho. We have the money; if Father allows us to use it, why not just do it? And yeah it’s the easy way but what’s wrong with that?” Yuto wrapped his brother in a hug. “You’ve had to be the man of the house for three years, hiding your true feelings behind a smile. I saw your memories...whenever you put those goggles on, it means you’re bottling everything up. And you haven’t put them on ever since we reunited. You put a wall between you and the world, but nothing can separate us again.”

Yuya looked up and placed a hand on those goggles. It’s true; he remembered those times when he slipped them over his eyes. How the world turned the color of a sunset and how he peered through a blue star to symbolize to keep his hopes up even when the world falls down. 

Yuto placed a hand under Yuya’s chin and gave his little brother a loving kiss. “You don’t have to struggle anymore. You don’t have to protect yourself behind a smile. You don’t have to feel guilty about taking the easy way out. You’re not Shingo; you’re not a selfish prat, you’re one of the most loving and caring people I know. You’re my baby brother, and I love you, and I’ll do _ anything _to keep you happy.”

Yuya smiled as a tear fell down his eye. Not even Yusho’s teachings have made him feel this warm inside. If anything, Yusho’s advice was like putting a bandage over a cut on his palm instead of giving it stitches. Here, Yuto was giving him the love that he wanted for so long. The desire to truly admit that he was struggling all by himself, like he was trying to keep his head above water.

Yuto rubbed Yuya’s arms. “Come on, we have a brother to prevent from killing,” Yuto joked. Yuya chuckled softly, giving Yuto a shy yet bright smile. 

“Thank you, Yuto.”

“Anything for you, my beloved ruby,” Yuto said, placing another kiss on Yuya’s forehead. 

“Tell me, Yuto,” said Shun, butting in. “What should we expect from Yugo?”

“He feels so angry,” Yuya stated. “When it comes to his loved ones, he gets into an aggressive state. Well, then again we _ all _ are like that. But, Yugo’s case is...different.”

“..._ How _ different?” Shun inquired.

Yuya sighed. “Okay, quick rundown Shun. If I get mad, I’d either burn you alive or put you in a nightmare you can’t leave. If it was Yuto, he’d shred your soul and fill it with freezing darkness you’d feel like you’re drowning. Yuri is slow, sadistic, patient and deliberate; he wants you to _ know _ that you’re suffering and that he takes delight in hearing you scream.”

“And...what about Yugo?”

“When angry, Yugo can get a bit…messy. He’s quick, quicker than anyone realizes, you’ll never see him coming. Swift as the wind and destructive like the storm. If you’re lucky, he’ll use his claws to tear out your heart. If you incurred his wrath, he can use his fangs to rip your flesh out. Blood splatters everywhere.”

“Yugo isn’t sadistic,” Yuto clarified. “I’ve never seen a sadistic tendency from him before. His anger is instinctual; he never thinks about the damage that he can and would create, he just _ does it _. If he ever gets under control and uses his wind power as a weapon... I suppose only Father knows the damage Yugo could unleash.”

“....We have to stop him now,” Shun whispered. 

“Yeah, we’ll have to calm him down. Shun, I don’t want you to interfere in this, just let the duel continue and leave the rest to us.”

“What about -- “

“Mom will be fine,” said Yuya. “And I’ll get Mieru and those ‘bikers’ out there too.” 

“We just need you to not enter, not show any fear or try to attack Yugo or hold him back,” Yuto clarified. “Leave that to us. In fact leave it to Father; he can easily take care of it." 

Shun swallowed; he already saw Yuya and Yuto enraged and witnessed Yuri’s sadism...the last thing he needed was to lose an arm or leg from Yugo. Still, he nodded his head. “Okay. I’ll keep my distance.”

Yuto nodded his head as his pupils turned into slits. “Then let’s get going. I’m not sure who will lash out first. Let’s pray that it’s _ not _ Yugo.”

As the three raced through the darkness, guided by the hatred bubbling within Yugo, neither were aware of two pairs of eyes staring out at them. Amethyst eyes and ruby red. 

_ “This is bad…” _ The being with amethyst eyes whispered. _ “We have to do something.” _

_ “I know, I know, aibou…” _ The second being with crimson eyes and a soft baritone voice replied. _ “We can’t do anything to destroy the Seal once it’s in play, but we can at least cast a spell to protect everyone who gets caught within.” _

_ “We have to go now, Atem,” _ The amethyst eyed being stated. _ “Both of us know how that _ thing _ can easily corrupt even the purest of souls.” _

_ “Right. Let’s go, Yugi. And let’s pray that Yugo becomes of Clear Mind _ not _ to attack Raphael after the darkness has been purified from his heart.” _

************

Usually, the only way to return Shingo to his normal self is to get his self-esteem team to pour out praise and words of comfort.

But Ootomo, Yamabe and Kakimoto were silent as Shingo was pounding a fist against a tree in the the park. They had never seen Shingo react in such a way; even his loss to Yuya against that Block Spider ended with Shingo easily regaining his cool before he was off to work constructing a deck with Mobius the Frost Monarch as the main star.

“Hey, Shingo,” Kakimoto began. “Are...are you okay?”

“OF COURSE I’M OKAY!” Shingo snapped, turning to his friends with a huff. “I mean, I couldn’t be even better! I’m the great Neo Swatari after all! Nothing phases me! Nothing _ hurts _! Nothing stands in my way!” He laughed a little, but his cheerleaders weren’t buying it for a second. 

“Now that I think about it,” said Yamabe. “You never told us anything about why none of us are allowed to mention your mother…”

“Because it’s _ not important _ ,” Shingo hissed. “She’s not important in the long term anyhow! No, there’s only me.only me becoming the strongest duelist Maiami City has ever seen! How _ dare _ that Fusion duelist bring _ that woman _ up like that. Why, if I ever see her again I’m going to -- “

“What? Punch me in the face? Get your daddy to arrest me? Go on, Shingo. Tell me face-to-face.”

Shingo turned to see Serena and Yuzu approach them, gritting his teeth at both the girl who defeated him and the girl who brought up painful memories.

“Oh, _ you _,” Shingo spat out. “Don’t you two have some appointments to get your nails painted or something?”

“That...actually sounds like a good idea!” Yuzu answered. “I mean, I probably won’t have a chance to paint them until this war is over.”

Shingo blinked, surprised that Yuzu didn’t take his comment as the insult he intended it to be.

“What? Like doing girly things is something to be ashamed of? Please,” Yuzu replied. “And maybe Serena and I can go for ice cream and a movie...oh wait, no Dad’s buying _ yakinuku _for us so maybe we can have ice cream tomorrow.”

“Whatever,” Shingo scoffed. “What do you two want now?” 

“Shingo,” Serena explained. “About that comment I made earlier. I really didn’t mean it that way.”

“Fusion Summoners like you always act like that,” Shingo replied. “That Masumi girl just _ really _has a way of digging into your skin with that tongue of hers.”

“Listen I didn’t mean to hurt you, I promise, I was actually genuinely asking that’s all,” said Serena. “Honestly you’re a good duelist, but you try to have too big of an opinion of yourself, it really comes out as obnoxious and fake. And, from what I see, it seems like you’re acting off to hide something.”

Yuzu blinked, amazed at Serena’s analytical skills. She held no lasso of truth, but something about how she spoke showed that she was quite experienced. 

“Listen up, _ Academia _...I told you I don’t have to explain anything to you,” Shingo said, gritting his teeth.

“And you don’t, I get it, we’re not friends, and you don’t trust me, regardless if I was from Academia or not. I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I actually hurt you,” Serena noted.

Shingo didn't answer. Instead, he snapped his fingers as he and his self-esteem team left Serena and Yuzu, not wanting to think about anything. Not his loss to Yuzu of all people, not Serena's words and _ certainly _not his mother.. 

Yuzu and Serena exchanged a look before sighing and walked back to You Show Duel School. As they continued to walk, Serena frowned. Seto, Mokuba and Joey watched her, the three trying to make up their own theories as to why Shingo disliked anyone bringing up his mother (whether it was because she was abusive, she walked out on him, she died) but they wouldn’t get anything unless Shingo decided to confess.

“Serena,” said Yuzu. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. We had no idea Shingo would act that way. And besides, he’s not _ that _ bad of a duelist. His last duel against Yuya had the audience applauding for the spectacular show. I’ll be honest that those Yosenjus were pretty cool; why he traded those in for another deck is beyond me. I mean, just because he lost once with that deck doesn’t mean it works out for him. I mean, Yuya’s lost plenty of duels with his deck but he never gave up on his monsters.”

“I guess if you put it that way, then I should stop beating myself up,” said Serena. “But...I really didn't mean to hurt his feelings. Shingo always acts like he's better than everybody else, like no one can knock him from his throne, but the look on his face was just… well surprising to say the least, I'm not even sure what I said that triggered him like that." 

"Yeah that's true," Yuzu said as they came back inside the You Show Duel School. She frowned when she noticed who was missing. "Hey, where did Yuya, Yuto and Shun go?" 

"Yuya nii-chan got a call from Mieru-chan. She sounded so scared,” Ayu explained. “Yuya nii-chan said it'll be okay and left with Yuto and Shun to see what’s going on.

"Left?" Serena repeated. 

"That's weird, we didn't see them leave the door,” Yuzu answered. “So...how did they leave?"

Before anyone could answer, Shuzo burst into the room. "Yuzu! I’m so proud of you, my hot blooded girl!" he yelled, coming down to hug Yuzu happily. 

"D-dad!" Yuzu whined. “It...it wasn’t all of me. It was thanks to Serena who motivated me to keep going.”

Serena blushed as she brought out her hand and placed it in Yuzu’s own. The two shared a smile as Shuzo let go of the hug on his daughter.

“Oh, that reminds me of something!” said Shuzo. “Yuzu, remember when you asked about your bracelet and how I told you it was always with you since you were born?" 

"We-well yeah," Yuzu said, now looking at her bracelet and remembering Serena, who didn't have hers anymore, now having a tattoo of a bracelet with a crescent moon on her wrist. Which was strange on its own. Yuzu never takes her bracelet off, not even when she sleeps. So how did Serena get that tattoo and where did the bracelet go?

And there was also the mystery of those two new Melodious monsters. The Fusion one she understood -- as she was studying Fusion Summoning -- but the Xyz one? How did that appear in her Extra Deck? And who was that voice who spoke to her prior to her receiving the card? 

"It… um wasn't the only thing that you had with you at the time," Shuzo answered.

"What?!" Yuzu asked surprised and so was Serena. She knew for a fact it was only the bracelet from Ray or the Dragon King would have said something about it. 

The three spirits exchanged looks of confusion as well. Only the bracelets had been a thing. But what else could Yuzu have and why _ her _? And was it truly from Ray? 

"Well, why didn't you tell me about it before?" Yuzu asked. 

"Uh well you see, I didn't want it stolen from you,” Shuzo answered. “It's a… it's a little bit _ different _from your bracelet, but it was yours, I couldn't act carelessly with it. So I kept it in a safe here until the time was right. But now that I know my precious daughter is strong enough to defend herself and fight her own battles, I felt like it was the right time to hand it to you.” He pulled out a pink silk purse embroidered with three small flowers from the pocket of his jacket. "I know it's not your thing, so it's up to you as to what you decide to do with it."

The spirits, Serena and Yuzu were all silent. As Yuzu opened the pouch and lifted the item for everyone to see. It was a choker lined in black velvet. Dangling in the center was a dragon made from pure gold, and embedded in it were five crystals, the eye had a silver almost whIte colored one, the wings each had two, red and purple, while the front claw had blue and the tip of the tail was a pink crystal.

“That looks amazing!” Ayu squealed. 

“That looks expensive!” Tatsuya noted.

“Shining like a glass of sparkling cider!” Futoshi added. 

"I've checked everything. The dragon, the jewels, they're all real,” Shuzo stated, pulling out a certificate of authenticity..”And like I said If you don’t want it, you’re free to do what you want with it. After all it was yours from the start.”

Yuzu could feel the tears trickling down her face, even though she had no idea why. Just by looking at it, she could only feel sadness and regret and love and fear in her soul. 

“Yuzu?” Shuzo asked, concerned. 

Yuzu held the necklace between her two hands and her eyes widen as Images started to appear behind her eyes. 

_ … _

_ … _

_ ... _

_ Yuzu saw a boy that looked eighteen years old looking out a window in a small café, resting his cheek on his palm not paying attention to much, eyes seeming a millIon miles away. He looked so so much like Yuya, except older and with golden eyes like gold medals. _

_ "Hey Zarc," she heard herself say before the boy blinked and his eyes immediately caught her, giving her a big smile. _

_ But before Zarc could say anything, the scene swiftly changed with Yuzu now sitting on a park bench looking sleep deprived as hell. _

_ "Tough night?" she heard and her head snapped to the familiar voice, her heart warming up. The same boy -Zarc- came closer with two cups of what she hoped was coffee for her. _

_ "Ah, exams are hell and you're a life saver," she heard him chuckle and handed her the coffee which she proceeded to chug down before she gave out a sigh. "Ugh marry me," she jokingly said. _

_ "Ask me that when you're _ not _ on a two hour rest and you need coffee to let you function." _

_ She heard herself laugh before the scene changed again. She and Zarc were in an amusement park when a cold can of cola was pressed to her face making her squeal in surprise. She turned around and, just as she thought, Zarc was there with his usual shit-eating grin. _

_ Another scene changed and another and another, all with that same boy with that same soft smile and look in his eyes, over and over and over again. With each and every memory, Yuzu could feel her heart explode and her eyes brimming with tears. Why did she feel this say for Zarc? _

_ The final scene had Yuzu looking at the similar choker with the golden dragon pendant and its five crystals, her voice shaking in disbelief as she stared at herself in the mirror, Zarc behind her. "You can't mean this, Zarc. This… this is too much." _

_ "No, it's not,” Zarc answered. ”I want you to have it." _

_ "But… Zarc, I know you're rich but…” The girl looked guilty as she ran a thumb over the dragon’s wing. “You said it belongs to your family. I can't possibly take it." _

_ It was that smile again, with the dragon necklace he always wore now turned into a choker raised in his hand. "I love you Ray, and so do my boys. I want you to have it," he unclasped the choker and slipped it around his neck, fingers brushing against her skin as he placed the clasp on. "Consider it a good luck charm if you will. Something personal from me to you, so im always with you, when you’re alone, when you duel." _

_ "You always did like spoiling me," The girl giggled before turning around and throwing herself at Zarc, hugging him. "It's very precious to me, Zarc. I'll take good care of it," she could feel the tears almost falling down her face. "I love you too." _

_ As she felt those familiar and strong arms wrap around her tight, she could hear Zarc reciprocate her love with a soft angelic voice whispering in her ear. _

_ “You don’t know how happy I am hear to hear that, Ray. Now come on, turn around so I can have a better look-see.” _

_ The girl, Ray, turned around with a bright smile on her face and the crystals on the dragon pendant shining softly. The girl in the mirror and matching choker copied the same smile on their face. _

_ Yuzu's face. _

_ … _

_ … _

_ … _

“Yuzu! Yuzu!”

Yuzu gasped when someone splashed a glass of water in front of her face. That came from Serena with a half-empty water bottle in hand._ ’ _

"Yuzu, are you alright?" she asked panicking. Yuzu looked at Serena before she slowly looked at the necklace in her hand, wiping the tears forming at the corner of her eyes with a dry part of her sleeve.

"Yuzu nee-chan! What happened?" Ayu asked worried almost crying. 

"We were really worried!” Tatsuya added. “Shuzo- san was about to call the ambulance."

"Yuzu?" Serena repeated, placing her hand on Yuzu's shoulder. “Are you okay?”

"Yeah!” Yuzu hastily answered. “Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"You froze after you got your necklace," Shuzo explained. “It was like you were experiencing deja vu with it.”

"...It’s not my necklace, Dad," Yuzu whispered, bowing her head. 

"What?" Futoshi asked. 

"It's… it's not my necklace," Yuzu repeated, clutching onto the choker with a gentle hand. She felt like the room was starting to spin, taking a step back as she placed a hand on her forehead to steady herself.

"Whose necklace is it then?” asked Shuzo. “I just found it on you, no letter, no picture, nothing.”

Yuzu bit her lip, staring at the choker and all the memories that seemed to flow from it like water trickling down a rock. 

“It belongs to Ray," she answered softly

Serena's eyes widen at hearing that name. Ray? Ray _ Akaba _? That necklace belonged to her?!

No, nononononono...it’s impossible. She, Yuzu, Rin and Ruri were once Ray. So how could that choker exist to someone who no longer existed?

"Who's Ray?" Tatsuya asked. 

Serena looked from Yuzu to the necklace with clear worry in her eyes. This was bad; this was bad!

"You know, I’m not too sure yet," Yuzu replied, rubbing her head. This was getting scary; first a ghostly voice in her mind, then new Melodious monsters, _ then _ noticing Serena’s bracelet was missing and now a choker that belonged to a girl with her face who sounded like…

…

...

…

...It can’t be.

The voice from that Ray was the same voice who talked to her before she received Vivaldina!

Yuzu took a deep breath, trying to think what Yoko would say in regards to this sort of situation. Okay, ghost voices in her head, new monsters that obtained, and memories that were not strictly her own but to a girl with the same face as he,r and a boy she was in love with who looks exactly like Yuya... This...whatever it is might have something to do with the counterpart thing. 

Ray is real, she knew that, these memories here -- _ Ray's memories _ \-- she had no doubt about that. This necklace in her hands first belonged to a boy named Zarc, who by Ray's own words was very rich and spoiled her and she very much loved him. What she saw in these memories, the care and easiness and happiness between The two, they were very much in love. But the memories also were filled with so much sadness that Yuzu can’t place. Did something happen to Ray? Did Ray and Zarc began to drift away?

These sensations felt so similar to what Yuya must’ve felt when he suddenly obtained Pendulum Monsters; somehow the cards changed appearance and he instinctively knew how to set the Pendulum Scale. And somehow she could feel a familiar sensation when it came to summoning Vivaldina and Haydina. Did Ray duel with Melodious monsters in the past? Were those Ray’s cards?

Yuzu frowned as she focused on what she knew. There was once a girl named Ray and a boy named Zarc, now there are four counterparts of Yuzu and four counterparts of Yuya, one per dimension and each of them capable of a different summoning method (or, in the case of Yuzu learning more methods, she could now Fusion and Xyz Summon). So perhaps it is safe to assume that with four counterparts, along with four dimensions with so much history lost and questions to be asked that the four girls were once Ray. Is that why they were being kidnapped by someone with Yuya's face? Yuzu really didn't like the idea; being Ray means she's no longer Yuzu and she _ liked _being Yuzu, liked Serena as a sister, loved her father and friends. She also has the distinct feeling that she doesn’t have the whole story, as if there was a bigger picture that she was not seeing. 

So what was a girl to do? Well, first of all calm down. She got new information, she has a set goal of _ not _ being Ray and losing all that she loves, including herself, to protect Serena, and her friends and to stop Professor Akaba from carding even more people for his twisted dreams of a utopia. As for Zarc and his possible counterparts put a pin in that until you get more information. This was not a good at all plan but it was a set of goals. First goal, find out more information as she and Serena plan which means going to LDS for sure. 

_ “That’s not good, that’s not good, that’s not good!” _ Joey muttered in a panic. _ “First Ray’s presence and her monsters, now her necklace?!” _

“Say, Serena,” said Yuzu.

“Yeah?” asked Serena.

Yuzu smiled as she slipped the choker back into the drawstring silk purse. “What do we say we go out and have something to eat?”

"Ah yeah, I guess," said Serena, whom Yuzu noted reacted to her hearing the name Ray with fear. She _ knew _that name, which means she knows what Yuzu has figured out. 

"What about the choker?" Serena questioned, knowing that she had lots to ask Zarc tonight in regards to it. 

"Well, it doesn’t actually belong to me...but I need to keep it safe for now," Yuzu answered, running her thumb over the dragon's face, over the silver crystal. _ Something in me, possibly Ray, wants me to keep it. The thought of returning it to Zarc or even Yuya and his counterparts is making my heart ache. _

_ But why does Zarc have a similar face to Yuya and Yuto and Yugo and Yuri? Wait...could Zarc be _ related _ to them? I mean it does make sense; Yuya doesn’t share any of Yoko-san or Yusho-san’s traits. Could they be like her and Serena and be Zarc's counterparts though? Although Zarc did say something about his "boys"...who could he mean by that? And why is it only Ray and Zarc who have counterparts? It still doesn't make sense, again not having the big picture here. _

Yuzu didn’t have enough memories to confirm or deny _anything _yet. And she wasn’t sure whether it was a good time to bring this up with Serena either. Perhaps when they were alone she would probe the question.

"So you wanna go?" she asked Serena again before, for a reason she couldn’t understand, she kissed the choker before slipping it back into its silk pouch and into her bag that was hanging on a hook on the wall. She lifted the bag and slung it onto her shoulder, patting the bag with a firm hand. _ I need to be careful with it. And I need to ask Serena what happened to her bracelet and where she got that tattoo from, I don’t want to explain it to my dad or the kids. I guess it's really lucky Yuya and Yuto weren’t here when dad showed it to me...and I’m also kinda glad that no one asked where I got those new Extra Deck monsters. _ That _ would’ve been hard to explain. _

_ Alright Ray, if you _ are _ there and listening to my thoughts I'm going to need you to explain all this to me in the future. _

“Don’t forget dinner is at the Sunstone Barbecue tonight,” Shuzo shouted as Serena and Yuzu headed towards the entrance. “6:30 sharp!”

“Promise dad!” Yuzu replied, waving goodbye to everyone and taking Serena's hand as they left. Once she and Serena stepped out, she smiled. “So... what do you want for lunch?”

“Hmm…” Serena answered, tilting her head before her eyes lit up. “Ah, is there any place here that served that dish your dad made for dinner?”

“A place that serves loco moco?” Yuzu replied. “Wait, let me see…”

Pulling out her cellphone, Yuzu hastily typed something in the search bar before getting the results she wanted. “Yeah! There’s a fast food place called _ Burger World _ that opened up some time back. Reviews say that the food’s pretty good!”

_ “Wait...Burger World?” _Joey repeated, eyes wide. He hadn’t heard that name in quite some time.

_ “For the last time, puppy…” _ Seto grumbled. _ “We’re spirits; we can’t eat.” _

_ “No…” _ Joey said, shaking his head. _ “That...that place is familiar…please don’t tell me that…” _

He said nothing as Yuzu and Serena raced down the sidewalk, following the directions on Yuzu’s phone until they reached the fast-food restaurant five blocks later. Joey was still silent as he looked at the logo, a lifetime of memories appearing in his mind as he fought back tears.

_ “Joey, what’s wrong?” _ asked Mokuba.

_ “I...haven’t been here in so long…” _Joey whispered, watching Serena and Yuzu enter the restaurant. If he had a physical body, his heart would be rapidly beating when he saw who opened the door. It was a teenage girl wearing a green buttoned blouse, forest green skirt and wore a yellow handkerchief around her neck and a matching ribbon tying her shoulder-length brown hair up.

“Welcome to Burger World!” The girl said with a bright smile on her face. “How can I help you?”

Seto and Mokuba’s eyes widened at the girl’s face, but Joey just took a glimpse on the name-tag proudly pinned on the girl’s blouse, closing his eyes as he felt his body shake.

_ “Téa…” _He whispered as a tear fell down his eye.

****************

_ “Father? Are you okay?” _ Yuya asked when he felt his father reopen the bond between them. _ “You’ve been quiet ever since…” _

**_“I’m fine my love. Don’t worry,”_** Zarc said softly, gently running his hand through Yuya’s hair.**_“Just focus on your brother now.”_**

_ “You knew all along about what Yoko-san was _ planning_?” _ Yuto thought. _ “Why did you not tell Yugo that?” _

**_“It would’ve ruined the surprise._** **_And it seems my sweet boy needs a few lessons in self restraint,. _**

Yuya and Yuto shuddered. They didn’t know exactly what Father had in mind. That tone was familiar, deep with a small purr like a large lion whose belly was full of carrion. They were worried about Yugo but they trusted Father's judgment. Father loves them, knows what's best for them.

“We’re almost there,” said Yuto, emerging from the shadows to see Mieru outside, panicking, eyes wide at what she’s seeing.

“Mieru!” said Yuya. “Mieru, what’s going on?”

“Darling!” Mieru shrieked, seeing Yuya, Yuto and Shun approaching her. "II… I don’t know what happened…"

...

...

...

Yugo fell on his knees clutching his head, body shaking, tears falling down his face. No...Rin wouldn’t do that. Rin loved him too much. She...she couldn’t...

“Yugo!” Yoko shouted, constantly pounding on the dome. She turned to Valon, who now had a futuristic helmet covering his head. “What’s going on? Can you see anything in there?”

Valon narrowed his eyes. “I can’t. I mean, Yugo looks okay physically...but mentally…”

Outside, Mieru moved her hand so her crystal apple showed what was inside Yugo. However, she noticed a large crack forming on said apple…

“Oh no…” Mieru whispered. “Something’s gone wrong with Yugo!” 

Yugo stopped moving for a moment, eyes lost, tears still falling down his face. To him, everything had fallen silent.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Mezzo-Soprano the Melodious Songstress / LIGHT / Level 4 / Fairy / Effect / 1500 ATK / 1000 DEF**

**Effect: **If you control a “Melodious” monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. You can only Special Summon “Mezzo-Soprano the Melodious Songstress” once per turn this way. Once per turn, you can declare a Level between 4 and 7: the Levels of all face-up “Melodious” monsters becomes the declared Level until the End Phase of this turn. You cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate this effect except “Melodious” monsters.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Haydina the Melodious Maestra / LIGHT / Level 5 / Fairy / Fusion / Effect / 2100 ATK / 1200 DEF**

**Effect: ** [ _ 2 or more “Melodious” monsters” _] Increase the ATK of all other monsters you control by 300 for each material used in this monster’s Fusion Summon. Cannot be targeted for attacks while you control another “Melodious” monster. On the turn this card leaves the field: increase the ATK of all monsters you control by 300 and if you do, you can add 1 “Melodious” card from your deck to your hand.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra / LIGHT / Rank 4 / Fairy / Xyz / Effect / 1800 ATK / 1000 DEF**

**Effect: ** [ _ 2 Level 4 “Melodious” Monsters _] Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: Draw 1 card. Then, if the card drawn was a Level 4 or lower “Melodious” monster, you can reveal that monster: Special Summon it. Fairy-type monsters you control gain 200 ATK and DEF for each Xyz Material attached to this card.

_ Note: The preceding monsters were created by donjusticia and first debuted in his fanfic, “Signs of Renewal” _

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Action Spell - Spear Carrier**

**Image: **A black stick figure wielding a spear.

**Description: **Target one monster you control, that monster can inflict piercing damage on your opponent’s defensive monsters.

_ Note: A Spear Carrier is essentially a walk-on part; someone who enters a scene, announces something, then walks off never to be seen again. _


	15. Chapter 8 Part 4: Domino Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoko's decision to have Yugo duel to rescue her goes wrong. Horribly HORRIBLY wrong.
> 
> (Oh and Serena and Yuzu go out for burgers, but that's completely minor)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're Back!!! Hi guys! Sorry it took this long but believe me we have our reasons one of them is we were having trouble writing the Yugo and Raphael duels. So before we go to this chapter I have a few small notes to write.
> 
> 1\. Never decide who would duel who before searching the decks thoroughly.  
2\. Never write a sneak peek for a duel without writing the actual duel first.  
3\. Guardians. fucking. SUCK! No one should even try to make a deck for them. None of them are that good, even by the old school Yugioh rules they are shit; they wouldn't even go against Generation 2 Yugioh and most of them suck anyway, and Yugo is like Generation five!  
4\. As of yesterday, we found out that Clear Wing can negate the summoning Abilities to the guardians and destroy them, but decided to ignore that part because none of Raphael's monsters could be on the field if we decided to do that. 
> 
> GPQ and I deeply deeply regret choosing Raphael for this because again the Guardians SUCK, and this was a struggle to write. We already written another duel for chapter 9 that was a lot more fun and when that one comes up I do have another small points about the deck. 
> 
> (GPQ: We chose Raphael mostly because he was the leader of the bikers. We should've gone with Valon but even then his constant use of Armor monsters ahd how they can change targets would've made things even MORE confusing)
> 
> We hope you enjoy this chapter, and Part 5 will take a bit more time because of a decision we will have to make about a certain character.
> 
> You guys have gone this far, you know the drill by now, warning are not needed. Have fun guys!

_ This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! _

Mieru kept chanting that as she raced down the sidewalk, crystal apple in her hand. She didn’t have time to explain to her parents just where she was going, only telling them that she saw something ominous within her crystal apple when she went to make a prediction as to what would happen to her darling Yuya, and that she had to warn him about the impending doom.

The darkness that was seen within her crystal apple felt like it was freezing her from the inside. It was different to the darkness in Yuya’s soul, warm, loving, kind. This one didn’t care about people at all, focusing only about itself, feeding off of despair and anger, clinging onto a soul like a parasite.

Calling Yuya was of no good. For some reason he wasn’t picking up. So she had no choice but to head directly toward the Sakaki residence to give the warning before it was too late.

She was just about to approach the house when the door flew open and Mieru saw Yoko being carried away by three bikers. Mieru’s eyes widened and she almost screamed when Yugo flew out of the door and hopped onto his D-Wheel not even a minute later.

As Mieru could hear the D-Wheel’s engine roar, she looked down at her crystal apple once again. There, she saw another cloud of darkness within the facets of the crystal.This must be the Darkness that she sensed, that can’t be good! 

She tried to run after them and kept trying to call Yuya -- not Yuya,  _ Yugo _ ! She mentally reminded herself -- but he still didn’t answer. He was going too fast, and his mind was too focused on those bikers. What’s worse was that they were taking the older roads, roads that lead to the abandoned run-down parts of Maiami City and there was no way for her to catch up to them.

“Where...are...they….going?” Mieru panted.

***************

“So...why are we having Raph duel in this old place again?” Valon questioned.

The four looked at the empty building filled with dust, cobwebs and broken lights. The front of said building looked like it used to be a thriving arcade, a place to have fun before the advent of Action Dueling replaced video games with real-life humans flying and kicking about on Duel Monsters.

“This place holds a very happy memory for me,” Yoko answered, looking at the ruins. She smiled sadly. “It’s the place where Yusho and I first met.”

“Really?” asked Alister, tying Yoko to a pole and making sure the ropes around her wrists and weren’t on  _ too _ tight. “You two met here?”

“Well, it was an unusual first meeting,” Yoko explained, sighing at the memory. “I was dueling to protect one of my girls, held hostage by a rival gang that I humiliated long ago. And then Yusho showed up, laughing and smiling like this was all a funny show. He dueled in my place, wowing all of us, telling me that we should duel for smiles…” Yoko smiled sadly as she looked at her wedding ring. “It was so long ago...and now I don’t know what to feel about him. I’m very angry with him; he made a lot of stupid choices that hurt Yuya and I. And while I know he never meant for any of it to happen, I still hold him acountable for them...”

“I’m sure he misses you and Yuya,” said Raphael, staring at his cards. “I mean, what person wouldn’t miss their family after being separated from them for three years?”

Yoko sighed. “Yeah, maybe, I just.... I’m really angry at him, though. Yusho didn’t think how much his disappearance would affect us or Shuzo-san. He didn’t imagine that the money he made at the school would last until he got back. I had to learn how to be careful with my spending...until I realized yesterday that I had no need to.”

“What do you mean?” asked Valon. 

“Reiji,” Yoko answered. “I’m guessing that because it was technically his fault that Yusho vanished, then he was handing me money into my bank account so I didn’t have to worry about expenses for Yuya’s tuition or rent or bills. I was so used to buying stuff at a discount to even notice. And I’m worried about Yuya, I know he loves Yusho but with everything that’s been happening he might start to resent Yusho. And again while Yusho was an idiot, I don’t want Yuya hating him, which seems like the way he’s heading,” she gave a sigh. “I just wish things can get better soon.”

Suddenly the roar of a motorcycle could be heard.

“Showtime,” said Raphael, preparing his Duel Disk. “This kid’s not going to be that bad, right?”

“He saved the ass of last year’s champion of the Arc Championship tournament from being carded,” Yoko replied. “And said champion ran away like a pussy.”

“...Oh.”

“He’s strong, very strong, so don’t underestimate him. He’s a great Synchro user, so be careful.” 

“Hey!” Yugo yelled as he kicked the doors down. He growled as he stared at Yoko tied to a pole with Valon and Alister flanked by her sides and Raphael with five cards in her hand. “Let her go! Now!” 

Raphael momentarily hesitated before replying with a smirk. “We’ll see, if you beat me! Now prepare yourself! We’re going to have an Action Duel!” 

Yoko smiled. Everything was going to plan: Yugo was the right amount of angry, Raphael was getting into his role and no signs of strange dragon magic or Zarc telling Yugo the truth could be seen. “Beat him up, Yugo!” she shouted. 

“I choose the Action Field, Piers of Peril!” Raphael shouted.

A bright light filled the empty building and the scenery changed into a pier overlooking a dark sea. Two large statues were on opposite sides of the field -- behind Raphael was a large tiger and Yugo stood on the snout of a green scaly dragon. There were empty warehouses littered with graffiti of Chinese characters.

“Are you ready, Yugo?” Raphael snickered. “If you really want your precious mother back, you’ll have to get through me first!”

“My Yugo is stronger than you’ll ever be!” Yoko taunted, doing her best not to smile. “And once I get out of here, I’m gonna kick your ass so hard that you won’t even be able to feel it!”

Yugo activated his Duel Disk and drew his cards. That’s it; no one was going to hurt his loved ones again.

“DUEL!”

**Raphael: 4000**

**Yugo: 4000**

At this time, Mieru finally reached the arcade, noticing the three motorcycles and one D-Wheel parked to the side. She could already see that a duel was in progress so she approached the side of the building and peered inside.

“HUH?!” Mieru gasped, looking at Raphael, Valon and Alister. “They’re...they’re...so DREAMY!” Mieru then shook her head. “No, no, I must be loyal to my prince...but these three men are sooooo handsome!” She squealed to herself face red and her hands on her cheeks.

Just before she could decide which one she wanted to be her future prince, she looked down and her eyes widened. She lifted her crystal apple towards each biker and a shiver fell down her spine.

“W...why is there darkness hidden in their souls?” she asked herself worriedly.

…

…

…

“I’ll go first,” said Raphael, drawing his card. Yugo narrowed his eyes, seeing the pair of white feathery wings shielding his opponent. “And I start by playing my Spell Card, Guardian Treasure!”

“He’s starting out with that?” asked Valon. “That’s gonna be risky.” 

“This card allows me to draw two cards at the start of my turn, but I need to send my entire hand to the graveyard,” Raphael explained, slipping his entire hand to the graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. He then made two swift draws. “And next, I summon Maha Vailo in Attack Mode!”

Rising onto the field was a magician with long blond hair, levitating in the air, legs crossed. They wore a long blue robe with a strange matching hat on top of their head. Their eyes were closed in meditation. (1550 ATK)

“I end this with a face-down card,” Raphael said, emptying his hand. “Your move,  _ Yu _ go.”

“It’s Yugo,  _ not fusion!”  _ screamed the boy. “And you’re gonna pay!” The blue and yellow haired boy said before drawing his first card. “Since I don’t have any monsters on the field, I Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand!”

With a low hiss, a collection of thirteen red tops slithered upon Yugo’s side of the field. Each top had a pair of sharp curved blades on each side, and they spun round and round, ready to slice Maha Vailo into ribbons. (1300 ATK)

“When Speedroid Terrortop is Special Summoned, I’m allowed to take one more speedioid card from my deck to my hand,” Yugo explained and took one card to his hand. “Next, I’ll summon Speedroid Double Yoyo! 

Riding onto the field was a machine that looked like a chariot being driven by two green yo-yos with electrical leashes, the yo-yos having spinning blades that pierced the air with a whirr. (1400 ATK)

“Damn,” Alister muttered. “He summoned two monsters so quickly.”

“Gee, I wonder if that’s why they’re called  _ Speed _ roid?” Yoko remarked.

“But the two still have less Attack points than Raphael’s monster,” Valon piped up. 

Yoko chuckled. “These two aren’t for attacking, they’re for summoning,” she explained. “Did I mention that Yugo hails from something called the  _ Synchro _ Dimension?”

Alister and Valon knew this, but they pretended to look shocked.

“Now then, I’ll tune my Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop and Level 4 Speedroid Double Yoyo!” Yugo exclaimed.

The two monsters began to transform. Terrortop became three green glowing rings while Double Yoyo formed into four white stars that formed a straight line and entered the rings.

**(*4 + *3 = *7)**

_ "Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" _

Rising onto the field was a beautiful silver dragon with four glass wings, a black and silver striped tail and a single blue horn jutting out from its head. Clear Wing roared at Maha Vailo, unfurling its beautiful clear wings. (2500 ATK)

“Well… That’s one impressive monster,” Valon said whistling. 

“You haven’t seen anything yet…” said Yoko, remembering the demonstration duel Yugo and Yuto displayed in her living room days ago. Before she foolishly made them watch  _ The Haunting Hour _ and began to learn the truth about them.

“You were a fool to leave your monster out in the open,” Yugo snarled. “Go Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Attack Maha Vailo!”

Clear Wing roared and attacked Maha Vailo, destroying the monster with the flap of its wings...but as the smoke died down, Yugo noticed something was wrong.

**Raphael: 4000**

**Yugo: 4000**

“What?!” he asked. “Why are your lifepoints still the same?!” Yugo yelled, waving his fist.

Raphael snickered, standing on top of a pile of crates. “Because of the card I played,” he answered.

“What, your Trap Card?” 

“No, the Action Card I picked up while the smoke gathered. The Action Card known as Damage Banish!” 

Raphael pointed to the Action Card of a puff of smoke surrounded by red stars on the field with a smirk. “When I’m about to take damage, this card reduces it all the way to 0. And that’s not all, I activate my face-down card, Miracle’s Wake!”

His face-down card flipped over, showing off light peeking out of some storm clouds.

“This card allows me to resurrect a monster that was destroyed in battle. So I’ll bring back Maha Vailo for another go!”

Maha Vailo returned, opening their amber eyes to star at Yugo. The thin line of a mouth curved downwards. (1550 ATK)

Yugo snarled. He was sure he destroyed that monster.

“What’s wrong, Yugo?” Raphael taunted. “Never heard of Action Duels before? Shame, because you remind me of that Yuya boy. At the very least, I thought you’d be able to match  _ him  _ in his dueling skills.”

Yugo’s eye twitched. “Fine. I place one card face down and end my turn. Your move, let’s see what you can do.” 

Raphael drew two cards. And once again, Yugo saw those angel wings shielding the taller duelist. “Well then, let me show you what’s so special about Maha Vailo. You see, every time I play an Equip Spell on them, they gain an additional 500 attack points.” 

Yugo’s eyes narrowed, and kept listening.

“So let me demonstrate by equipping Maha Vailo with Gravity Axe - Grarl! It will increase their lifepoints by 500!”

Emerging in Maha Vailo’s hands was a huge double-bladed axe that they pointed to the sky. (1550 -) 2050 -) 2550 ATK)

“And that’s not all. Once Gravity Axe - Grarl is on the field, I’m allowed to Special Summon its wielder. So come forth, Guardian Grarl!”

With a roar, a burly warrior with the body of a  _ Tyrannosaurus Rex _ wearing a yellow vest with three chains keeping it on its chest, green shorts and bandages wrapped around its wrists and legs. It snarled at Yugo’s Synchro Dragon. (2500 ATK)

Raphael then stomped on the crate he was standing on once, twice, three times. He moved the boards away to find an Action Card hidden inside it. Perfect.

“Next I play the Action Card - Extreme Sword!” he shouted. “This will increase Grarl’s attack points by 1000 this turn!”

An Action Card of a sword appeared behind Grarl, the dinosaur warrior growling as his attack increased tremendously. (2500 -) 3500 ATK)

“Go Guardian Grarl! Attack Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!”

Guardian Grarl charged towards the Synchro Dragon, bringing his fist back to deliver an uppercut.

“I don’t think so!” said Yugo. “I activate my Trap Card, Burning Sonic! Not only is your attack negated, but now Clear Wing gains 500 attack points.” 

Yugo’s face-down card lifted, depicting a fiery tornado. Said fiery tornado wrapped itself around Clear Wing Synchro Dragon causing it to roar and Guardian Grarl to halt its attack. (2500 -) 3000 ATK)

Raphael grunted as Grarl walked back to his side. “I’ll end my turn there then.”

“I draw!” Yugo yelled and drew another card, “First I play Shock Surprise, and banish the two ‘Speedroid’ monsters from my graveyard to destroy your two monsters.” 

Yugo slammed a Spell Card onto his Duel Disk, showing a monster targeted through green cross-hairs, struck with electricity. As two cards popped out of his graveyard, a large bolt of lightning descended, destroying Maha Vailo, Guardian Grarl and the Gravity Axe.

“He’s swift like lightning, this kid,” Alister remarked.

“Now I attack directly!” Yugo shouted. “Go Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!  _ Helldive Slasher of Whirlwind! _ ”

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon flew into the air, still with the Burning Sonic aura around him before spinning round and round and round, charging towards Guardian Grarl. Raphael smirked.

“I activate the effect of Electromagnetic Turtle!” he said. “By banishing it from my graveyard, I can end the Battle Phase this turn!”

The spectral image of a mechanical turtle with the letters ‘N’ and ‘S’ on its yellow underbelly appeared. Its long tail created a barrier that protected Raphael from Clear Wing’s attack.

“But when did...it was in your hand when you played Guardian Treasure, wasn’t it?” Yugo snarled.

“How perceptive,” Raphael smirked.

“I told you that card was better than Rescuer From the Grave!” Valon said, teasing Alister. Alister rolled his eyes with a fond smile on his face.

Yugo let out a frustrated growl. “I end my turn.” 

“My turn then,” Raphael yelled as he drew two cards. He smirked what he drew as he shouted, “And I’m stopping you in your tracks. I play  _ Swords of Revealing Light _ !”

Yugo looked up as three large swords made of yellow light rained from above, landing right in front of him as if creating a barrier.

“Now you’re not allowed to attack for three of your turns,” Raphael chuckled. But in his mind, he let out a sigh of relief. This will give him some breathing room until he gets the cards he needed. “And I’m playing another face-down card just because.”

_ Damn it!  _ Yugo growled, seeing that face-down card.  _ What’s that card for? Is it to bring back his monster?  _

“That’s not gonna stop me!” Yugo shouted, drawing a card. “For this turn, I start by summoning Speedroid Horse Stilts!”

With a whinny, Yugo’s newest monster appeared. It looked like the upper half of a carousel horse with a green mane and its front legs being stilts. (1100 ATK)

“And when Horse Stilts is summoned, I get to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower ‘Speedroid’ from my hand, so come out Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!”

Horse Stilts stomped one of its stilt-legs onto the ground as Red-Eyed Dice appeared. It looked like a large yellow die with red eyes for pips. (100 ATK)

“Now I tune my Level One Red-Eyed Dice and Level Four Horse Stilts together!”

Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice turned into three green rings while Speedroid Horse Stilts charged into the rings, turning into four white stars that clustered together.

**(*1 + *4 = *5)**

_ “ _ _ "Dual wings nurturing shining body. With those wings, leap into the sky!  _ _ Synchro Summon! Level 5! Hi-Speedroid Hagoita!” _

Racing onto the field was a brand new vehicle with a bright pink body that looked like a pink badminton racket with yellow rings in the center. Its wings looked like two shuttlecocks. (2000 ATK)

Raphael chuckled. “Is that all? Fine then. Now I activate my face-down card, Jar of Avarice!”

His face-down card lifted, revealing a large red jar with a grinning face and bejeweled with numerous gems.

“This card lets me shuffle five cards back to my deck, and then I draw one card,” he explained, swiftly slipping five cards to his deck. One shuffle later, and Raphael drew another card.

“All the cards in your deck can’t save you!” Yugo snarled. “I’ll still knock you down for the count.”

“We’ll see,” said Raphael, drawing two more cards. At seeing what he drew, his eyes widened slightly. Every time he drew them, he felt something blossom in his heart, a longing that he couldn’t understand.

He never liked it whenever this monster got into battle, always doing all he could to protect them -- well the same could be done to all his monsters, since he’s had them since he, Alister and Valon were kids taken into the Paradius gang -- but sometimes he felt like there was something more than that.

Still, this was not a serious threat. All Raph had to do was play his part and that’s all.

“I play Card of Demise,” said Raphael. “I can draw till I have five cards in my hand, but I must discard my entire hand after four turns.”

He played another Spell Card of a green hooded executioner looking in horror at a deck of cards about to be sliced in half by a guillotine. Raphale then drew three more cards.

“Now, I summon Backup Gardna in Defense Mode!”

A dark-blue skinned fiend with a mane of magenta hair rose onto the field, crouching in defense. He had two horns on his forehead and sharp fangs along with a spike on each shoulder, and wore maroon shorts. His knees had a guard with a large spike jutting out and his lower arms were wrapped with bandages. (2200 DEF)

“And next, I play... _ Celestial Sword - Eatos _ !”

Raphael showed an Equip Spell Card of a pink-robed angel with a pair of swords crossed over her. Then, a beautiful sword fell from the heavens which Backup Gardna picked up. (500 -) 800 ATK)

“And with this card is played, I’m allowed to Special Summon its wielder. Come forth,  _ Guardian Eatos _ !”

A bright light descended from the ceiling as everyone watched in awe. A woman in a Native American dress and a white dove headdress appeared with red markings on her cheeks and a flowing mane of blond hair. She stretched her arms out, exhaling softly when her feet landed on the ground. (2500 ATK)

“She’s...beautiful…” Yoko whispered.

“I activate the effect of Backup Gardna,” Raphael continued. “If he’s equipped with an Equip Spell Card, I can change the target to someone else. So I give Celestial Sword - Eatos to its rightful owner.”

Backup Gardna nodded his head as he handed the sword into Eatos’ hand. (2500 -) 2800 ATK)

Eatos lifted her head, her wings spread, some of the feathers of her wings falling down like snow. Everyone watched in awe, Mieru felt her heart skip a beat at her beauty. The beautiful spirit opened her eyes, and gasped softly, eyes widening when she saw Yugo before her as her adversary. 

_ “Prince...Yugo?”  _ She whispered softly, blinking.

“Did…did she just  _ talk _ ?!” Valon asked, voice high with surprise.

“Did she just call Yugo a prince?” Alsiter asked. “Yoko…”

Yoko looked in horror. That’s right -- Solid Vision technology made the monsters  _ real _ . But the idea of Guardian Eatos addressing Yugo wasn’t one she was expecting the duel monsters, or Eatos herself, to speak like that to Yugo. It kinda crushed on to her now that her kids are  _ princes.  _ Duel monsters have their own history and respect for them, and her boys are the highest in the food chain. 

_ This is bad.. _ .Yoko thought, knowing that her plan was falling apart right in front of her.  _ This is bad! _

Mieru’s eyes widened. She never before had seen or heard of a Duel Monster speaking or even looking so  _ alive  _ as this Eatos does now. She looked at the scene, jaw hanging open in a silent scream. And she just called Yugo a prince… were Yuya and his brothers  _ actual  _ princes? What did that mean? Princes of dueling? Was...was that it? 

_ “My prince…”  _ Eatos whispered, hand to her heart.  _ “W...why are you so angry? What has my master done to receive your wrath?” _

“He and his buddies kidnapped Yoko kaa-san!” Yugo snarled. “He put her in danger!”

_ “That is a lie. Your...mother...is not harmed at all. She -- “ _

“LIAR!!!” Yugo roared, eyes glowing in an eerie teal light. “Can you not see it?! They attacked her in her home, forced me to chase after her and tied her up!”

_ “Raphael,”  _ Eatos said, looking back at Raphael with sad scared eyes. _ “Raphael, please listen to me! You are in danger, you should not have made the dragon prince angry.”  _

“What do you mean?” Raphael asked, unsure what was going on. He knew from Yoko, Yuya and...Zarc about some things but the last thing he was expecting was a Duel Monster that he knew since he was a child to speak to him and warn him that this ploy to let Yugo lighten up was going to backfire.

_ “Yugo is not of right mind!”  _ Eatos explained, hands shaking.  _ “This isn’t just a duel...he...he wants to  _ kill you _ !” _

“What do you mean ‘kill’?” asked Valon. “We’d never hurt Yoko! I mean, she could just untie these ropes herself…”

Suddenly, Yugo clutched his heart and gasped. Something was wrong. Father...Father just shut his connection to him and left an icy feeling inside. He dropped to his knees, tears falling down his face.

“Yugo? Yugo! What’s happening?!” Yoko asked, untying the ropes at breakneck speed. “Please listen to me-” 

But she was cut off as Yugo roared, angry and in pain as his wings and claws appeared. Yugo panted for breath as he roared again, the building shaking, looking as if it would collapse. 

Eatos floated in front of Raphael as if shielding him from Yugo, trying to protect him, looking scared, but staying strong determined to protect Raphael no matter what.

“Eatos?” Raphael asked.

_ “Something’s wrong,”  _ Eatos said, her breath hitched with fear.. 

Yugo’s fangs grew, white scales formed around his face, four glass wings unfurled from his back, and lashing out onto the floor was a long silver tail with black stripes. In all, it looked as if Yugo had fused with the soul of his Synchro Dragon, and he looked just as angry as said dragon.

“We have to stop the duel right now!” said Yoko. “Raphael, drop his lifepoints to zero now!”

“Right,” said Raphael. “Go, Guardian Eatos. Attack Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!”

Eatos struggled as she pointed her sword at Yugo. Tears fell down her face as she raised her sword into the air, a bolt of lightning striking it before she swung it down like a hammer.

“Your monster’s too weak,” said Yugo watching as Raphael hopped off of the crates and began searching for another Action Card, finding one by some coils of rope.

“Not for long,” said Raphael. “I play the Action Card - Bi-Attack to double Eatos’ attack points this turn!”

An Action Card of two swords crossed and a ‘2’ above it appeared. Eatos’ lightning bolt attack grew larger as Eatos’ stats rose from 2800 ATK to 5600!

Yugo snarled as he began looking around for an Action Card. Then, he noticed that hanging on the tail of the dragon statue was an Action Card dangling above his head.

“There’s no way he’s gonna get that without -- “ Valon paused. “Oh wait, he’s a dragon.”

Yugo flew into the air and snatched the card, smiling at what he picked up.

“I play the Action Card - Miracle!” Yugo announced. “Not only does this protect Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, but I take half damage from your attack!”

As Yugo descended to the ground, the lightning bolt struck Clear Wing but otherwise the dragon was unharmed.

**Raphael: 4000**

**Yugo: 2450**

“Not bad,” Raphael said. “But I don’t know how long you can keep up like this. I know this Action Field like the back of my hand.”

“No you don’t,” Alister replied only for Yoko to slap him on the back of his head. “Ouch!”

“Raph!” said Yoko. “End this duel now! The longer this goes on, the angrier Yugo is gonna get! You can’t stop him!”

“But…” Raphael said before a voice cut him off.

** _No, not yet. _ **

Raphael felt a chill fall down his spine before pain, pain like being thrown into a pool of hot water, covered him. He tried to place his hand over the Duel Disk, but instead he grit his teeth as it felt like his skin was boiling.

“Someone…” Raphael whispered, clutching his head in agony, as if someone took a machete and spliced his head open like a watermelon. “Who’s speaking to me? WHO ARE YOU?!”

** _I am power, truth, light...Call me...an old friend, Raphael._ ** A deep voice hissed.  ** _And now it is time to return to what once was, and defeat the darkness, and evil. Now destroy him! Leave no trace of him in this dimension._ **

“This isn’t...what I want…” Raphael replied. This was just for fun; nothing was at stake. Yes he wanted a way to counteract Yugo’s fast Synchro summonings, but he didn’t want to actually  _ harm _ the kid!

But Raphael could feel the power of that voice cling to his heart like tar, taking a hold on his mind. It was getting harder to fight back, harder to tell this voice to leave him alone. 

“Raphael!” Yoko shouted, racing towards the barrier in an attempt to shatter it. However, the minute her hand touched it, she was blown back and landed painfully onto a couple of wooden planks. Still, she was quick to sit up and turn to Yugo. “Yugo, wake up! Use your powers or something! You’re a dragon prince right? You know spells, don’t you?!

Yoko never got an answer as she, Valon and Alister were thrown back towards a wall, watching in horror as a green runic circle trapped Raphael and Yugo. They heard Eatos scream in pain as two thin lines traced a six-pointed star in the center. 

Yugo turned his head to the sides looking at the seal under their feet, before growling at Raphael. He knew it...he knew this person was up to no good. They reeked of darkness, and not the Gentle Darkness nor the darkness that his father wielded.

It was corrosive, painful, biting...it had to be annihilated. Yugo roared again, snarling at the seal, at the one who trapped him, shutting off his connection to his Father.

Mieru looked at her crystal apple again, but when she moved it towards Raphael...her eyes widened. The seal in front of her was as green as her eyes but held no warmth nor light in it. 

_ I’ve never seen this before... _ she thought.  _ No wait...the star is the Unicursal Hexagram...but the runes around it are older than that...like thousands and thousands of  _ years _ older! What’s wrong with this man?! _

“Has that...ever happened before?” Yoko asked, now seriously worried. Not only was Yugo’s anger getting bigger, now Raphael had an aura of darkness around him that she was absolutely sure was  _ not  _ Zarc’s work. Moreover, neither Yuya nor Zarc really explain to her just  _ what  _ happened to Raphael, Alister and Valon in their previous life to warrant a comment that things were better now.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,  _ madam _ .” 

Raphael snapped his head towards Yoko and Yoko placed a hand on her mouth in horror. Raphael’s mouth opened to a wicked grin, and there was a bright red tint in his normally calm grey eyes. Eatos’ hand covered her mouth and she looked as if she was about to cry

“W...what the…” Yoko gasped.

“I do have to thank you, Yoko was it? For giving me this chance of fighting the most  _ gullible  _ child of Lord Zarc.” Raphael chuckled as he looked back at Yugo, licking his lips. “His anger, worry and wrath will make for a fine feast, and once I weaken him, I will have a new host, and a part of Zarc’s very soul will become mine!”

“Not if I stop you!” Yoko shouted, reaching out for her Duel Disk...only to remember that she left it back in the house. And even if she did have it, her limited skills in Synchro probably wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Raphael, or whatever was possessing him, barked at her. “Foolish woman...then again, the last blond haired biker who worked for me also tried that tactic and it ended up with  _ her _ soul taken away too...and by the same person you see before you!”

“You keep talking like that and I’m gonna kick your ass even harder!” Yoko snarled.

“Oh and what can you do to stop me, hmm?” Raphael purred. “You’re in no position to do anything. This duel continues until one loses.”

Yoko clicked her teeth. “Valon, you have your Duel Disk on you, right?”

“Always,” said Valon, pulling it out from a backpack in the corner and slipping it on.

“Activate your Armor cards and see if they can figure out what the hell this is,” said Yoko, trying to see what else she could do. “This must have a weak spot or perhaps Yugo could just surrender the duel and…”

“I WON’T SURRENDER!!!” Yugo snarled, snapping his head at her, eyes turned to slits

Yoko winced, almost thinking that Yugo would shoot lasers out of his eyes to incinerate her. “Yugo…”

Yugo clenched his teeth, curling and uncurling his claws at what he was facing. “The Orichalcos and the accursed serpent that is its god...if one loses in a duel when the Seal is cast, then they lose their soul to fuel its power. It is diminished, but if I surrender, it would be as if I lost, and I will  _ not  _ bow before this creature.” 

“What have I done...?” Yoko whispered to herself in horror. 

And outside Mieru rapidly began pressing buttons on her Duel Disk to call Yuya. 

“Pick up, pick up, pick up…” Mieru whimpered, hoping that this Orichalcos hadn't sensed her presence. “Please Yuya, pick up!”

***************

“So…” Yuzu said, seeing Serena looking over the menu for the fourth time. “Have you decided what to order?”

Serena’s eyes were locked at the different types of burgers to choose from. And there were also appetizers and drinks and sides and she just had trouble figuring out what to eat. After one more minute of scanning, she sighed and set the menu down.

“I...don;t know,” Serena answered. “What would you recommend?”

“Hmm…” said Yuzu, taking the menu to her hands and looking at it. “Oh! You loved dad’s cooking last night, right?”

“Yeah, I already know what I want. That loco moco rice burger.” To emphasize that, Serena pulled the menu down and pointed to the exact item she wanted. It was a hamburger patty topped with mushrooms and a fried egg while sitting underneath it was rice molded into a bun.

Yuzu set the menu down and tilted her head. “Then if you already know what you want, why do you keep looking at the menu over and over again?”

“Because there’s just  _ too much _ to choose from,” Serena answered. “I mean, there’s salads and sides and drinks and who knows what else? Back at Academia it was usually one or two dishes to choose from.”

“Oh, set meals then.”

“Yeah. I just...don’t wanna ask for more at this point.”

Yuzu smiled and set the menu down. “Hey, it’s alright, you can buy whatever you want as long as we have the money for it. Dad and I adopted you and we’ll take care of you, so just get whatever you want. It’s just food. Today might be the only day we get to ourselves before we head off to Synchro, so just enjoy it.” 

Serena took the menu into her hand. “Well, okay then.”

It was at that moment that Téa arrived to take their order. “All right, then. Ready to order?”

“Sure am,” said Yuzu. “One side of onion rings to share, and I’m having your ‘ABC’ burger with a medium iced tea.”

“Right and what about your sister?”

“I’m having the loco moco rice burger and this strawberry...milkshake it says?” Serena pointed to a picture of said strawberry milkshake.

“Excellent choice!” said Téa, writing everything down with a swift hand. “All right, your food should be back in about ten minutes. Feel free to contact me for anything!”

She pointed to the device near Yuzu’s hand, a remote control with a large red button on it, before returning the order to the kitchen with the menus in hand. As she left, she didn’t notice Joey sitting at an empty table, tears in his amber eyes.

“Say, Yuzu,” said Serena. “Could I take a look at your deck?”

“Absolutely,” said Yuzu. “But why?”

“Well, we both use Fusion so I thought I’d take a look at how yours work and I...I really wanna see the new Xyz monster you have.”

“Serena, if this is about Hokuto…”

“No, not about him. It’s just…” Serena sighed. “I’m curious about Xyz monsters now. I mean all we knew is that we were going to fight them for the Professor’s Utopia, and that they were our enemy. That’s it. Obelisk Force worked on swarming the field and overwhelming the opponent by dueling them three to one, and burn damage that’s focused on one person and the lack of defense from Spell and Trap Cards thanks to the effects of Ancient Gear monsters. Meanwhile, anyone who wasn’t a duelist were easy pickings for the Slifer Red and Ra Yellow students who were ‘hand-picked’ to join in on the invasion.”

“That’s unfair!” said Yuzu. “That’s not a duel, that’s a  _ massacre _ ! These people don’t have the right to call themselves duelists.” 

_ “That’s something we both agree on.”  _ Seto remarked.

_ “Yeah, who do these guys think they’re fooling?”  _ Joey added. _ “If they’re fighting one on one, I’m sure a kid could beat them, without even trying! Hell, I wanna go there and teach these guys a thing or two about fighting.”  _

_ “You know we can’t,”  _ said Mokuba.  _ “You heard what Serena said; the last person who tried dueling all of those Academia students dueled until he was exhausted.” _

_ “Yeah imagine that, one kid dueling all these creeps three at a time would make them tire out so easily,”  _ Joey grumbled. 

“I want to help as much as I can,” Serena continued. “I’d...like to know Xyz Summoning.”

“I don’t know if I’m the right person to teach you,” said Yuzu. “I think you should ask Yuto and Shun about that.”

“I’ll think about it. For now, could you show me that Xyz monster? Vivaldina, right?”

Yuzu nodded her head as she brought out her Duel Disk and pressed the button for the Extra Deck function. A sole card popped out which Serena took to her hands. It was black, with the stars on the left instead of the right, looking like the opposite of all other cards that came before it. The monster looked...kinda cute. Black hair in an equally elegant black dress decorated with red ribbons and she also wore matching ruby shoes on her feet and a baton in her hand.

Serena stared at the card even more, particularly at what one needed in order to “build the Overlay Network” and all that. Xyz was a way to duel. Some of the monsters were kind of interesting, and Xyz monsters do have a certain protection against monsters that targets levels, Serena was taught to combat them…well scratch that, she was  _ not  _ taught to do anything of that kind but the Academia students were. 

And it’s not fair. Xyz was just another way of summoning. Nothing more, nothing less, certainly nothing to think less of… would  _ she  _ be good at Xyz? After all, they were more complex than Fusion because you needed a way to get materials to the field first then Special summon them. It required a knowledge of cards and extra steps that Fusion never needed in order to be performed. For Xyz, your monsters needed to be of the same  _ level  _ and perhaps the same type or attribute too. Not to mention that Hokuto Xyz Summoned with another Xyz Monster….that was called Xyz Evolution, right? 

“Something wrong, Serena?” Yuzu asked as Serena kept staring at the card.

“Huh...oh no, just thinking,” Serena answered, looking up. 

“About?” 

“Just the summoning methods that’s all. Say, does Yuya have Xyz monsters?”

“He does actually,” said Yuzu. “When he dueled Kachidoki a couple of days ago, he had a dragon called Black Mirror Xyz Dragon.” She giggled. “It was a sight. It was very shy being in front of an entire audience, so Yuya had to ask us to cheer him on. Then he chased after Kachidoki and acted like a large puppy instead of a fearsome dragon! Next time we see him, I can ask Yuya to show you the dragon. I bet Black Mirror would be good friends with Blood Moon!”

Serena blinked. Had it only been a day since she received that dragon in the first place? It was hard to believe after her entire world view was turned upside-down.

“I used to think Xyz was inferior… “ Serena said. “It was just the general thought in Academia but… it’s really not. It’s just different and a little more complex. It has its drawbacks in some areas, but so does Fusion sometimes. Like most of the time you need a Polymerization or a specific Fusion spell in order to fuse them together, but you can easily Fusion Summon using monsters in the hand instead of having the ‘Overlay Units’ be on the field for Xyz Summoning” 

“Most Fusion monsters don’t need some sort of cost in order to activate their effects,” Yuzu pointed out. “And nowadays there are monsters that can act as a Polymerization all on their own.” She pulled out Soprano the Melodious Songstress from her deck. “Which makes me wonder what type of cards an Xyz duelist needs in order to make sure their Xyz monster has a constant supply of Overlay Units.”

“Hmm, well I think there might be Spell Cards that can do that or monsters’ own abilities to fill in materials but not all monsters have that.”

“So you have to be very careful not to waste your Overlay Units,” Yuzu noted, recalling Yuto used both Overlay Units of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon to weaken Shingo’s Frost Monarch. Yes, it did cripple Shingo’s monster, but it wouldn’t do any good if Shingo could whip up a monster that could top Dark Rebellion’s 2500 attack points. Or found a way to simply remove Dark Rebellion from the duel through Spell, Trap or even monster effects. Thank goodness Shingo was more worried about Yuto’s face-down cards.

At that moment, Téa returned with their order. Yuzu licked her lips as she saw her burger topped with sliced avocado and bacon strips while Serena looked curiously at her own meal. Téa then noticed the card in Serena’s hand and smiled.

“So, you’re an Xyz duelist?” she asked.

“Um, no, but I can learn to be,” Serena answered. “What about you, Téa...do you duel?”

“I duel on the side, I’m more of a dancer myself,” Téa replied. “Although I once had a dream that I was dressed up as Dark Magician Girl.”

“Dark Magician Girl?” Serena asked. 

Tea nodded. “Yep,” she said, pulling a deck of cards out of a holster strapped to her leg and looking for the card before showing it to Serena and Yuzu. Serena’s eyes widened in shock. It was the girl! The same girl she met on Duel Spirit’s day. She even had the same face. 

“My deck contains the Dark Magician girls,” Téa explained. “They’re a Spellcaster archetype that supports each other like a sisterhood and each of them work together to protect one another and summon each other on the field. It’s been said that the original Dark Magician Girl is the apprentice of the Dark Magician; she gains 300 Attack points for every Dark Magician and Magician of Black Chaos in the Graveyard.”

“That old Ritual monster?” asked Yuzu.

“Yeah, not a lot of people play him nowadays. Instead, they play Magician of Chaos which seems like an upgraded version of Dark Magician.”

Serena looked on in interest at Dark Magician Girl. Back at the spirit festival, Dark Magician Girl said nothing about where she came from, just that she was there to have some fun. “You said Dark Magician Girl was an apprentice, so does that mean you have Dark Magician too?”

Téa shook her head. “No, it just doesn’t feel like I’m meant to have him you know, it’s weird but, sometimes I feel like something, or someone. is missing in my life, and I can’t explain it. I feel like... there’s a whole in my heart, and sometimes I look around expecting to see someone with blond hair with a huge appetite that makes me roll my eyes or feel like I should go to that game shop that I know to meet someone there but...it never really makes sense. ” 

At that, Joey looked crushed. Right there and then he just wanted to shout at her, tell her that the blond guy with the huge appetite was sitting behind her, and mention all of their other friends too. Tristan, Duke, Serenity, Ryou...did she remember them at all?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put all this on you guys,” Téa said before she took a better look at the Xyz monster. “Wait...Melodious,” she turned to Yuzu. “You’re Yuzu Hiragi from You Show Duel School, aren’t you? I saw your duel against Masumi the other day. I gotta say, you were amazing! The two of you put on a great duel.” 

Yuzu smiled big. “Thank you,. I’m happy you enjoyed it. That’s what You Show is all about; making people smile.”

“I find it very brave of you in having your monster save Masumi. Not a lot of people would go that far.” Téa then turned to Serena. “And what about you? Are you Yuzu’s sister? I don’t think I’ve seen you before, outside of yesterday’s announcement for the Lancers.”

Serena blushed a little. “Um, no I…”

“Actually yeah, she is my sister,” Yuzu said with a big smile. “This is Serena.”

Tea smiled widely. “It’s nice to meet you, Serena. So...you two are heading off to the Fusion Dimension to stop that evil Obelisk Force, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Yuzu nodded. 

“Obelisk…” Téa muttered, tilting her head. “For some odd reason...that reminds me of something.”

_ “That was the name of the Egyptian God Card I used in Battle City.”  _ Seto remarked.

“Regardless of reminders, they’re not something to take lightly,” said Serena. “We were lucky, but those who were carded weren’t. Not to mention that there’s only at least a dozen of us that’s going head on, instead of an entire army.”

“I see,” said Téa. “And you’re worried that you might become a card, huh?”

Serena nodded her head. “Yeah. A lot of students ended up as casualties, all of them trapped in the hands of the soldiers who did that to them, students who have parents and loved ones and friends fearing for what will happen to them. But...Yuzu tells me that as long as we believe in each other, then we’ll be able to conquer Academia and stop their mad schemes.”

Téa smiled. “That’s something I believe in too. You two are being very brave. Never go through things alone when you have people that can help you, your bonds give you strength, your friendship gives you power when you need it. You have to believe in yourselves and each other; never let doubt cloud your minds.” 

“That’s something Dad used to say all the time,” said Yuzu. “And then he’d go out and make us put our hands together while he drew a smiley face on them.”

“A smiley face? You mean like this?”

Téa pulled out a pen from her pocket and hastily scribbled something on a napkin, a big smiley face as if drawn on four hands. Joey looked like he was close to crying when he saw it. Was it really that long ago Téa drew that symbol with a sharpie? 

_ “It’s okay,” _ said Mokuba, leaning onto Joey.  _ “When this whole affair gets sorted out, you can be with her again.” _

Joey sniffled and hugged Mokuba tight as thanks.

“Yeah, that’s it!” said Yuzu, recalling that fateful day. Shuzo asked for her, Yuya, Ayu and Futoshi to bring a hand out before drawing that smiling face. “He said that even though the ink wasn’t permanent, the bond between all of us would still be there.”

Téa smiled before she turned to see someone waving towards her by one of the empty tables. “Oh, I gotta get back. Enjoy your meal!”

“Thank you,” Serena and Yuzu replied, waving good-bye to her before they began to eat. Joey also waved good-bye, but he knew no one would notice the sad smile on his face. He missed his friends dearly, missed telling Tristan and Duke to stop hitting on his sister, missed Ryou and their weekly games of  _ Monster World _ , missed participating in tournaments, missed all of the crazy and supernatural adventures they went through.

Serena was about to take a sip out of her milkshake when she realized something. “AH!” she said, placing a hand on her forehead. 

“What is it Serena?” asked Yuzu. “Did you get brain freeze from your milkshake?”

“Brain freeze? No, I just realized something!”

“What? What is it?”

“Didn’t Téa mention a game shop?”

“Yeah, I think there’s a game shop close from here. Why do you ask?” 

Serena grinned. “I was thinking I could get some Xyz monsters to experiment with. Maybe the two of us can have a few matches to see if they could fit with my deck.” 

“That sounds like a great idea!” said Yuzu, taking an onion ring from the basket and dipping into a small cup of honey mustard. “I actually do need a few more cards for my Melodious monster to focus on Fusion summoning. Oh, I also remember hearing there’s a Spell Card that makes Light monsters become Tuners! It’d be cool if I can ask Gongenzaka how to Synchro Summon, right?”

Serena smiled and nodded happily before taking a sip of her strawberry milkshake. A rather long one because of how she pushed it aside seconds later and clutched her head in pain. “AH! BRAIN FREEZE!” 

Yuzu stared at Serena clutching her head and giggled. Serena took a deep breath until she felt the brain freeze melt away before she began eating her own burger in silence. 

_ Wait... _ said Mokuba, realizing something important.  _ You don’t suppose that game shop is...the same one Yugi’s grandfather runs...right? _

_ Probably.  _ Kaiba answered.  _ We’ll just have to wait and see. _

_ Yeah,  _ Joey nodded as the two girls continued eating and chatting, treating their trip to the game shop as just another day instead of how they were preparing themselves for war . 

***************

As Mieru waited for Yuya to arrive, she didn’t notice that she was being watched. But she could feel two powerful presences near her, one of gentle shadows, the other of warm light. She turned around when she felt like a gentle hand was touching her shoulder in comfort…

But no one was there.

“W..who’s out there?” she squeaked, raising her crystal apple above her head like a candle in the dark. “Yuya? Yuto?”

Her apple began to flicker with a small light at the empty space in front of her. Someone, or some _ thing _ , was here...

“Show yourself!” said Mieru, activating her Duel Disk strapped to her left arm while the crystal apple in her right hand. “I’m not the top student of my school for no reason!”

_ Listen to us!  _ A deep voice sounded in Mieru’s ear.  _ We don’t want to fight! _

Mieru jumped and looked around. “W...what do you mean? What do you want with me?”

_ We’re sorry if we startled you,  _ said another softer voice.  _ We’re here to help if we can, Mieru. _

“How do you know my name?” Mieru looked at her crystal apple, seeing two images forming within. One was a golden eye and the other was a silver winged emblem with a blue orb in the center encased in what looked like the eye of an upward silver needle. “Who...who are you?” 

_ If we reveal ourselves to you, do you promise not to scream?  _ The softer voice questioned.

“I have no other choice, I don’t know what that Orichalcos thing will do to me if it finds out I’m here.”

_ Very well then.  _ The deeper voice replied.  _ Stand back, Mieru Hochun.  _

Mieru nodded her head as two glowing orbs of light, one white and one black appeared before her very eyes. They began to stretch upwards, forming arms, legs, wings and three spikes on top of their “heads”. Mieru watched as the light dispersed and standing in front of her two boys that looked like they could be brothers. Both of them had the same hair style of black hair magenta tips and blond bangs. One of them had a fairer skin and wide purple eyes along with black wings and scales, while the older and taller one was tanned like Masumi’s skin tone, with sharp red eyes and red wings and scales.. 

“Huh...wha…what?!” Mieru said, looking back and forth. “You’re...you’re…”

_ We’re…  _ the one with amethyst eyes began.  _ Um, we’re… _

“The two of you are so GORGEOUS!!!!” Mieru squealed, hearts forming in her eyes.

Atem blinked while Yugi blushed softly.  _ Um...ah… thank you?  _ Yugi stammered out. This reminded him too much of Rebecca when she was wearing her college attire and swapped her teddy bear for a pair of glasses. 

“You look so sweet like a teddy bear!” Mieru cooed, staring at Yugi. “Those wide amethyst eyes, that smile, that height...oh you could get any girl with those looks!” She then turned to Atem. “And you, so brave, powerful...that husky voice could make _all _the ladies swoon! Those red eyes like rubies just like my darling Yuya’s except fiercer, deadlier...like you want to lure innocent victims to a dark game!”

_ Um...I’m...very honored you see me that way... _ Atem stammered as well, making Yugi giggle at him. 

_ She’s not wrong about you though~  _ Yugi teased, giving him a kiss on the cheek...causing Mieru to gasp and nearly drop her crystal apple to the ground.

_ A-aibou...  _ Atem stammered again, cheeks coloring a bit.  _ Not in public… _

Yugi simply giggled again and wrapped his arms around his partner, his black dragon wings, which usually indicated danger, not making him look demonic but rather more innocent. .

“Mieru!”

Mieru turned around, relieved to see Yuya, Yuto and Shun approaching...but then took a glance at Shun and his raven armor, trying to figure out how that appeared on him (and also remembering that the last time she saw Shun, he was...very enamored with Yuto destroying those Obelisk Force soldiers).

Yuto and Yuya noticed the two spirits around Mieru who didn’t seem threatening even though they could sense that both of them held tremendous powers. 

“Mieru! What’s happening?” Yuya asked, before looking at the two spirits around them. Yugi Muto and Pharaoh Atem if he wasn’t mistaken. 

Shun took a glance at where Yuya was looking at them and blinked.  _ Brothers?  _ he asked.

_ Not brothers, but they were once two souls in one body.  _ Yuto explained.  _ Yugi, Pharaoh. Go to where the other Dragon Vassals are. We’ll handle things from here. _

_ If you are sure, then we will. Please, they’re good people. Do not let any harm come to them. T _ he Pharaoh begged, and Yugi nodded, looking at them with worried kind eyes. 

_ They finally get a chance to be happy.  _ Yugi added.  _ They deserve it. _

_ We promise.  _ said Yuto.  _ Now get going. _

“Darling!” Mieru said. “I… I don’t know what happened…the one dueling Yugo, Raphael, just summoned a monster who could talk, and she called Yugo a prince, then she told Raphael to surrender the duel but...but then it’s like the man became possessed! Filled with such cold and cruel and scary darkness and if one of them surrenders, they lose their soul! Oh and then there were those two boys with dragon wings who -- ”

She turned to the spot where Yugi and Atem were and blinked.

“What?” Mieru said. “The...they were just there, I know it! Where could they have gone?!”

“Don’t worry, Mieru. They’re heading off to a safer place. And thank you for calling me,” Yuya said with a soft smile, causing Mieru to blush bright red. Yuya and Yuto exchanged a look and ran to the arcade but Shun was unsure what to do though.

_ Stay by her side _ . Yuto commanded.  _ Leave this to us. _

Shun looked in concern but nodded his head. He really wasn’t that good with children, especially from someone who was known to faint at the sight of handsome guys, but an order was an order.  _ As you wish, my prince. _

“Yugo!” Yuya shouted as they entered the arena. “Yugo, calm down!”

But Yugo wasn’t listening, at least not to them, but instead he was hearing another voice in his head, dark and sinister and hateful.

** _Look at you, so alone so weak, the world against you, your family not caring about you. You were never a priority. Your little brothers’ problems were first and your precious lily took in the love and attention you wanted._ **

Yugo growled, but in a way those words rang true. Yuto’s worries about Heartland, Yuya’s fears in fighting Kachidoki, Yuri’s meltdown...all of them were fixed and there was still nothing done about Rin. Yes, Rin visited him in his dreams, but that didn’t automatically fix everything. She was still kept in a tower in Academia, and he couldn’t do anything to save her.

** _You’re nothing but a weak prince, simply bull-headed, stubborn. You act without thinking and you never listen to anyone. No one truly loves you little prince, they simply put up with you because they pity you, nothing more. I mean, why else would this Yoko give you a chance to duel? She felt sorry for you._ **

“That’s not true!” Yuto snarled, knowing exactly who was speaking to their brother. “Yugo, listen to us! That thing’s messing with your head. We care for you. Rin cares! You traveled to this dimension to rescue her! She’s waiting for you!”

** _Yes, her, _ ** “Raphael” purred. ** _ Rin, your friend, the ice queen. Always angry at you, always reprimanding you, always telling you to focus and actually _ ** **think** ** _ for once. What did she ever see in you except as some servant who will wait on her hand and foot? The minute she gets what she wants, she’ll toss you aside for a boy who actually _ ** **cares** ** _ about what she thinks!_ **

Yugo fell on his knees clutching his head, body shaking, tears falling down his face. No...Rin wouldn’t do that. Rin loved him too much. She...she couldn’t...

“Yugo!” Yoko shouted, constantly pounding on the dome. She turned to Valon, who now had a futuristic helmet covering his head. “What’s going on? Can you see anything in there?”

Valon narrowed his eyes, trying to read the data from his Psychic Armor Head monster. “I can’t. I mean, Yugo looks okay physically...but mentally…”

Outside, Mieru moved her hand so her crystal apple showed what was inside Yugo. However, she noticed a large crack forming on said apple…

“Oh no…” Mieru whispered. “Something’s gone wrong with Yugo!” 

Yugo stopped moving for a moment, eyes lost, tears still falling down his face. To him, everything had fallen silent. 

“There has to be something that can stop this,” said Alister. “Yuya, can’t you get your Father to do something?!”

“He already is,” Yuya said, eyes glaring at Raphael. “He’s not gonna let a serpent just play with Yugo’s mind like that.” 

Yuto turned to Yoko. “Yoko-san, don’t be mad at yourself. You had no idea.”

Yoko looked sad and worried but didn’t say anything. She was supposed to  _ protect _ her sons, and now she had one trapped by some ancient malevolent force. 

_ Father!  _ Yuya thought, focusing on his bond with Yugo.  _ Please, save Yugo!  _

_ I will, my shooting star.  _ Zarc vowed, eyes glowing gold.  _ Wait for me, Yugo. _

Yuya could feel something being pulled out of his body as he sensed Father entering into Yugo’s soul. All he could do until Father fixed Yugo was to wait.

And Zarc himself felt like he was slipping into quicksand as he entered Yugo’s mind.

…

…

...

Zarc opened his eyes and found himself in darkness. This...this couldn't be Yugo's mindscape. The sky above was dark, all around him the four winds roared in his ear with only that to hear. Under his feet were green crystals as stalagmites rising from the ground.

Zarc looked down and picked a shard up. He stared into it and saw it contained...a memory. But it wasn't a happy one, this was one of Yugo being picked on by Security officers

Zarc's face twisted in a regretful expression. His children have all suffered, being chased or shunned, and he wasn't there to help them or make it any better. He sighed, dropping the memory and kept walking looking for Yugo. 

“Yugo?!” He asked. “Yugo...My Crystal, where are you?”

It was getting harder to hear, and harder for his voice to be heard. The wind was howling, crying, wailing, and as it got closer, there were voices in the wind, cruel, haunting, mocking. More and more memory shards appeared. The bigger they were, the more painful the memory

And none was as big as the one of Rin being kidnapped and Yugo chasing after her on his beloved D-Wheel as he was a knight rescuing the princess from an evil king who wished to marry her.

Zarc walked around, looking everywhere and trying to hear anything, when he heard small sobbing noises somewhere, before starting to run towards them.

“Yugo! YUGO!!!” The Dragon King shouted.

As he neared the source of the sobs, he could feel it. Waves of sorrow and hate and despair in his soul. The crystals were also getting larger so he knew he was close.

Squeezing himself through the crystals, Zarc and saw a little shape, Yugo huddled on the ground. He looked small, like he was five years old again, his little wings out twitching slightly and his tail wrapped around his legs as he hugged a small dragon plushie with orange scales and small black horns. Ah yes, a Baby Dragon plushie. Human children wanted them so much for their cute appearance and it was known that several members of the Alligator Sword tribe would tame one of these as their mounts to ride into battle. 

“Crystal? Yugo…” Zarc said softly, his heart breaking. 

Yugo couldn't hear him, squeezing his Baby Dragon plush tighter. Zarc tried approaching him, but Yugo turned away.

“NO! GO AWAY!!!” The child yelled, still sobbing and softly clutching his plushie tighter.

A large crystal spike rose just where Zarc was about to step. Zarc's eyes widen, filled with worry.

“Yugo, it's papa,” Zarc whispered. “Come on, sweetheart. Don't be scared of me.”

Yugo was still crying, shivering, the white glow around him was weakening. Surrounding Yugo were shadowy figures with red lights for eyes. Zarc could feel it; these figures were all the people who looked down on his son, mocked him, chased after him, tormented his soul with doubt. 

Zarc glared at the creatures, eyes turning silver he placed his hand on one of the crystals. There was a slight hum in the air before the crystals shattered. This continued as he continued his way towards his baby Yugo. “My love, do not listen to these creatures,” he whispered softly and even then his voice was louder than the howling winds. “My beautiful crystal, my darling boy, listen to my voice. The serpent merely clouded your mind. You are not alone.”

Yugo shivered, shaking his head. “Then why did you shut yourself off from me?! WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE WHEN KAA-SAN GOT KIDNAPPED?!” Yugo yelled, looking at him, cheeks wet with tears. 

Zarc felt that like a punch to his gut. He knew what Yoko was planning, wanting his son to have a little fun. He didn't know that it was like betrayal to Yugo. Zarc sat down on the crystal floor in front of Yugo with a soft smile on his face and wiped Yugo's tears gently. Yugo's wings fluttered, and Yugo sniffed, eyes wet with tears, lip pouting and quivering. 

“My sweet crystal,” Zarc whispered. “I’m sorry about what I did, but something...happened that caused me to feel pain that I haven’t felt in such a long time. I know I shouldn't have shut down the bond, but I don't like it when you boys feel my pain.” he grabbed Yugo and placed him in his lap hugging him and rocking him gently “As for Yoko I am a part of you boys I go where you are, I couldn't be there to protect her even if she didn't plan all this. And you, my shining crystal, sped after them with only anger and no thought about what's going on. You didn't ask me or your brothers for help at all,” he kissed the top of Yugo's head. “Yoko wasn't in danger, she orchestrated the duel so you could have a little fun. The Leviathan was an unseen thing that she couldn’t have forseen. Do you understand now? You're not alone, you'll never be alone, I'm here, as you need me most, but you are strong, you just have to realize how strong you truly are. Take a moment and just think.”

Yugo tried to, but shook his head. “I can't...Everyone made fun of me cause I couldn't…”

“Couldn't what?” Zarc asked softly.

“I'm always in a rush, I try to ignore people but I get so angry!” Yugo yelled, shivering. “I...I don't think straight, I just feel like I wanna attack and hurt those who hurt me back!” 

Zarc hugged Yugo closer and wrapped his wings around them. “Yugo. My little one, are you scared in my arms?”

Yugo paused. “I...don't know…” he whispered tearing up. “You always tend to Yuya and Yuto and...and Yuri... You were so concerned about  _ them _ but not me…”

Zarc ran his claws through Yugo's hair and placed Yugo’s head on his chest. “I didn't mean to neglect you Yugo. I was always there when you felt sad, and I am here as you need me. I love you all equally. I adore you all. Tell me, what do you wish me to do?”

Yugo looked at his plushie, torn and fluff sticking out. Tears splashed down on one of its eyes. “He's hurt.”

Zarc kissed the top of Yugo's head before gently grabbing the plushie. “Poor thing, can't have that,” Zarc took Yugo's hand and placed it gently on the tear, with his own gigger hand on top of Yugo's. They both removed their hands and Zarc hugged Yugo tighter, kissing his cheek nose and forehead, as the plushie was mended “There you go love, he's not hurt anymore.”

Yugo looked at the fixed plushie but still felt sad, placing his ear near the dragon’s heart. “I can't...feel him... It's like...his heart is gone... he can't even fly…”

Zarc slowly understood that this is a metaphor for Yugo; no matter how many times his body heals, it can't heal his emotional pain

“Yugo, I know how much you've been hurt in your life, and I'm so sorry I couldn't help. But these people were wrong about you. I am your father. I know you. I love you. I'm proud of you, and so are your brothers. We'll never abandon you or leave you alone when you need us, you'll never be alone. We are one.” the older man kissed Yugo's forehead, hoping his words reached his little boy’s heart.

” How?” Yugo asked. “What if this happens again? What if you just shut off like that for good?!”

As he said this the plushie started becoming torn once more, and worse, the crystals were glowing brighter and harsh voices from within started to laugh and yell and belittle the boy. Yugo tensed and covered his ears in an attempt to block the sound, but it was like trying to grab onto water with one’s hands.

“I didn't shut the bond to hurt you, Yugo,” Zarc sighed. “Something happened, and I had to think, I did not want to burden you or your brothers' hearts with my pain. I know you sweetheart, you're strong, powerful, brave, you can do anything you set your mind to. I'll be there when you need me, I swear, so will your brothers. We are one soul, one heart, my treasure.” 

Yugo started crying as the crystals started to shatter and the voices began to die down. The wind became gentler, soothing, almost singing.

“Now come on, this is a beautiful breeze, and your dragon needs wings...why not help him fly?”

With one last sob, Yugo wiped his tears and smiled up at Zarc .“Yes Papa.”

Zarc gave him another kiss on his forehead. “I'm proud of you, my baby dragon of the wind.”

Yugo blushed, smiling. “But...how do we make the wings?” he asked, noticing that his dragon didn’t have the proper wings to propel himself into the air.

Zarc picked up the crystal shards. “With these,” he answered

Yugo looked at the shards and flinched. “No...they hurt...I don't want those!”

Zarc smiled softly. “They only sting, here try it,” He presented Yugo a shard like it was a candy wrapped in colorful paper. “Trust me, Yugo.”

Yugo stared at it with fear. He could feel faint voices inside, ones that make him squirm.

“Don't listen to these voices Yugo,” Zarc said and caressed Yugo’s cheek lovingly. “Listen to me, to my love, and they will not be able to harm you at all.”

Yugo listened to Zarc and the voices started to dim. Soon the images from that memory began to fade. All that is left is a bright green crystal.

Zarc smiled and sent waves of pride and love towards Yugo for being such a brave boy. “See my precious? it's all right now.”

Yugo nodded as he picked up other shards like they were leaves and the voices that scared him, the memories that hurt him, became silent. Soon he was spreading the shards out and piecing them together like puzzle pieces.

“Why not change them? Make them happy memories instead of ones that make you cry?” Zarc suggested. 

“How do I do that?” Yugo asked.

Zarc picked up a shard the color of bamboo and placed it near Yugo's heart. “Here, remember a time when you were happy. When your heart was light as a feather, when you were loved, when I made sure to take care of you.”

Yugo smiled and closes his eyes, remembering times and again his father's love, his brothers', happy times with Rin, Yoko taking him in as her son, and the ground beneath them change from green to colorful shimmering lovely colors.

“Even if I am not here, in your heart I exist. And these happy memories can lift you off the ground, and let you soar…” Zarc promised.

Yugo smiled wider, now back to looking normal instead of the child that was there, and all around them the crystals change.

They glow and shimmer and laughter, cheerful and innocent and loving, is heard in the wind. The dragon plushie grows longer and its body covered in beautiful diamond-like wings and a spine composed of a long chain of small metal disks. Its body and claws were composed of dark blue diamonds with an orange middle .

The new dragon opened its eyes and stared at Yugo. Yugo’s eyes widened before he stood up and brought his hands out towards this new monster, smiling softly as he petted it lovingly.

_ Hello there, my prince.  _ The dragon roared. 

Yugo smiled widely and let the dragon nuzzle him. “Hello there,” he said. He could imagine building kites just like this new monster, seeing them fly into the sky without a care in the world. 

“It’s time to wake up, Yugo,” Zarc whispered. “Destroy the Leviathan, my son. Trust in yourself, and never fear. We’re right by your side.”

Yugo smiled. “Yes Father.” 

Zarc smiled and kissed Yugo’s forehead and soon they were surrounded by light and wind that sang sweetly in their ears....

….

…

...

Yugo let out a breath and opened his eyes, now looking normal, with a confident smile on his face. 

Raphael, still possessed by the Orichalcos let out an angry growl, eyes narrowed. 

“Did you enjoy that tour in my mind, Serpent?” Yugo questioned with an amused smirk as he rose to his feet. “I quite hope so...s _ ince you’ll never get to do it again _ . Now it’s my turn, and I’m ending this duel. I draw!”

Yugo drew a card and his smile widened at what he drew. “First I play Mystical Space Typhoon to remove Eatos’ sword from the field.”

Raphael said nothing as Eatos’ sword shattered, reducing her attack strength to 2500. It didn’t matter anyway since Yugo didn’t have that many monsters in the graveyard to empower her.

“Then I play Synchro Cracker to return Clear Wing to my Extra Deck and then destroy all monsters you control whose attack is less than or equal to his. Since Clear Wing has 2500 attack points, then both Eatos and Backup Gardna!”

Yugo played his Spell Card of a white background with multiple Synchro rings and a black star in the middle. As Clear Wing Synchro Dragon left the field, two blasts of white energy destroy Raphael’s defense, leaving him empty of any monsters to protect him, but his Swords of Revealing Light still stood.

‘Raphael’ laughed. “You think you’ve won just because you destroyed Eatos? Well then, when Eatos is destroyed I can summon her more powerful form. Look upon the face of your demise, Yugo!” 

Valon, Alister and Yoko looked horrified at what they were seeing, especially Valon and Alister. They knew Raphael’s deck like their own, and neither of them have ever successfully destroyed her...or thought about what happened if she ever got destroyed. 

The ground under them split open as a new monster crawled out of the graveyard. It looked like Guardian Eatos, given the dress underneath the black breastplate. But now her hair was covered in mud as if she hadn’t washed it in years, a white mask with crimson eyes stared back at Yugo and she radiated with a black aura of death and destruction. (2500 ATK) 

“WHAT IS THAT?!” Mieru gasped.

“Guardian Dreadscythe,” Yuto answered.

“And her ability lets me equip her with her favorite weapon, Reaper’s Scythe, from my deck,” “Raphael” continued. “And for every monster in both our graveyards, she gains 500 attack points! In case you forgot, there’s four monsters in there!”

Guardian Dreadscythe lifted her weapon into the air as the souls of Guardian Eatos, Backup Gardna, Speedroid Horsestilts and Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice were sucked into said weapon. (2500 -) 4500 ATK)

“Right, Dreadscythe… I didn’t forget about her,” Yugo taunted. “For you see, I’m hardly done,” he said, the smirk turning into a glare.

“He’s facing the equivalent of a Grim Reaper with 4500 Attack points like it’s nothing,” Valon exclaimed. 

“What is that kid made of?” Alister asked

Mieru wanted to scream and clung to Shun’s side. “What is that thing?! What happened to Eatos?!”

“Dreadscythe is the manifestation of Eatos' vengeance, her dark side,” Yuya explained.. He couldn’t fault her for her fear. Mieru was a psychic duelist, naturally attuned with spirits. She would feel Dreadscythe’s darkness and anger, ready to unleash it on everyone who hurt her, laughed at her. “It’s gonna be okay. Yugo knows what he’s doing,” he reassured the fortune-teller. 

“I activate Speed Recovery, which returns Speedroid Horse Stilts to the Field.” said Yugo.He played his Spell Card showing Hi-Speedroid Kendama accelerating at a high speed. Then, Speedroid Horse Stilts leapt onto the field once again. (1400 ATK) “And then, I summon Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke!”

The sound of a drum hit the field as a new figure emerged. It was a young boy dressed like a medieval bard with a navy blue doublet, puffy cyan breeches and yellow crackles with the curled end made to look like lightning bolts. He wore a cavalier hat colored navy blue with a yellow feather and a lightning bolt sticking out that covered his right eye and a red cape around his neck that covered his mouth. In his gloved hand was a den-den daiko: a round drum on a stick with two beads hanging by rope on each side. (1000 ATK)

“Now I tune Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke with my Hi-Speedroid Hagoita!”

Den-Den Daiko Duke grasped his weapon with both hands and rubbed them together. The beads rapidly hit the drum as he turned into three green rings while Hagoita shrunk into five stars that aligned themselves and flew into the rings.

**(*3 + *5 = *8)**

_ “May your powerful wings lift you off, and free you from the shackles of hate and anger! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake!” _

With a roar, the dragon with navy-blue appendages and a long spine appeared, glaring at Guardian Dreadscythe as its green wings unfurled. (3000 ATK)

The onlookers watched in amazement at the new monster, but “Raphael” took a step back. “Why you,” He growled.

“I activate my monster’s effect!” Yugo exclaimed. “When this monster is Synchro Summoned I can choose to either destroy all monsters you control or negate the effects of all face-up cards you control. And I choose to negate the effects of  _ everything _ !”

“If he does that then Dredscythe loses her power boost...and Swords of Revealing Light are weakened!” Yoko finished.

Speedroid Kitedrake roared as a green wind struck all of Raphael’s cards, and the swords that surrounded Yugo flickered before fading away completely. Guardian Dreadscythe looked in alarm as she felt her powers weakening and her stats went back to normal.

“And I’m not done! I banish Den-Den Daiko Duke from my graveyard and Special Summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!” Yugo continued.

A spectral version of Den-Den Daiko Duke appeared, playing his den-den daiko before he slammed it onto the ground. He vanished, but Red-Eyed Dice appeared in his place. (100 ATK)

“And remember, Clear Wing is back to my Extra deck, so I use Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice’s ability and turn Speedroid Horse Stilt’s Level from Four to Six!”

Red-Eyed Dice tumbled around until its ‘face’ showed six red pips. Four stars shimmered above Horse Stilts’ head before two more were added.(LV: 4 -) 6)

“Now I tune these two monsters to resummon my Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Welcome back!”

Red-Eyed Dice and Horse Stilts came together one move before Clear Wing Synchro Dragon returned in a burst of life, looking angrier than before. (2500 ATK)

Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake turned to Clear Wing and nodded its head. Clear Wing nuzzled Kitedrake and purred happily.

“AWWWWW!!!!” Mieru cooed. “So cute!”

Yugo smiled at his two monsters before looking at Dreadscythe with a frown. “Now Kitedrake! Destroy Guardian Dreadseythe! Draconian Whirlwind!”

Kitedarke’s eyes began to glow as a green whirlwind surrounded him. Dreadscythe looked in horror as the attack pierced her heart, causing her to disintegrate into black dust.

**Raphael: 3500**

**Yugo: 2450**

“Raphael” grinned as he saw an Action Card sticking out of a window of the warehouse. “Nice try but as long as there send a card from my hand to the graveyard, Dreadsythe can--” 

“Raphael’s” face froze in horror as realization hit him. Raphael was still within the vicinity of the seal...a seal that neither duelist could get out of!

“What’s wrong? Oh right~ Your seal... it doesn’t let us move past its boundaries, does it?” Yugo chuckled.

“Raphael” shook in rage as he realized just what he caused.

“And even if you bring her back, you can’t equip her with Dreadscythe again, and she won’t survive. Go Clear Wing! Attack Raphael directly!” 

This time, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon unleashed his attack, spinning around and round in a corkscrew before the tornado it generated struck Raphael, sending him flying until his back hit the side of the barrier and he fell to the ground with a groan.

**Raphael: 1000**

**Yugo: 2450**

“End your turn,” Yugo snarled. “You can’t win. Even if you happened to destroy Kitedrake, the effects of your cards are useless. All I need is one more attack and it’s over.”

“I know I can’t win this duel,” “Raphael” chuckled, drawing a card. “But I don’t have to! No matter what, I win!”

The Orichalcos cackled as he slammed Raphael’s hand over his Duel Disk in surrender and the lifepoint counter on his Duel Disk slammed to 0.

**Raphael: 0**

**Yugo: 2450**

The seal glowed and the runes started to circle around before the circle of the seal surrounded Raphael glowing around him. Yugo snarled as he approached the older man and when he was close enough...he smiled as he showed off his claws. He raised his hand into the air, the talons glowing sharp.

“Raphael!” Valon shouted.

“No!” Alister cried out.

And Yugo’s claws suddenly went through the shield of the Seal. “No, that’s not happening,” he stated calmly.

“Raphael” looked shocked and afraid. “No…”

“You’re not getting away that easily,” Yugo declared. “You’re not getting what you want, Orichalcos.” 

With a flick of his wrist Yugo broke the Seal, shreds of it scattering around like glass before glowing intensely. Raphael howled in pain, and fell to his knees as the red tint in his eyes faded. The shards all but disappeared, thin green wisps of smoke rising from his body, gathering in Yugo’s hand before vanishing. 

“Is it...over?” Yoko said as the Action Field began to fade away. Valon sighed as his Psychic Armor Head disappeared.

Mieru looked at her crystal apple -- without a crack on it -- and smiled when she saw nothing. “It’s gone. Raphael’s soul is free.”

Valon and Alister ran towards Raphael worried.

“Raph…” said Alister, placing a hand on his forehead.

“Raphael, are you alright?” Valon asked, shaking Raphael like he was a soda can. “Hey, say something!”

Raphael’s closed eyes fluttered open before looking around him. “What… what happened?” He asked. Valon and Alister smiled in relief before hugging Raphael tightly. 

“Damn it,” said Alister. “Don’t scare us like that.”

Raph sat up and pulled his boyfriends into a hug. Valon and Alister just laughed, wiping tears from their eyes before they placed a kiss on Raph’s cheek and forehead.

“HUUUUUH!?” Mieru shouted, almost dropping her crystal apple. “What? All...all  _ three of them _ are….are…”

Valon looked up and smiled sheepishly. “Uh, if it means anything I like girls too,” he remarked.

Meiru’s cheeks turned red at the implications. And unbeknownst to her, a violet witch with long blond hair stared at the three and smirked.

Yuya and Yuto hugged Yugo tightly, so happy that their older brother was safe and defeated the Orichalcos.

“You’re okay!” Yuya said, kissing Yugo on the cheek multiple times.

“You’re back, Yugo! You did amazing!” Yuto exclaimed, purring.

But Yugo didn’t smile back. He was exhausted, tired and he felt like a failure in front of his younger brothers.

_ “Yugo...are you okay?” _ asked Yuto.

Yugo shook his head.  _ “I’m so stupid! I let my anger get the best of me and I nearly hurt Yoko kaa-san and people Yuya knows. I nearly let that Orichalcos return to the world. I’m supposed to be the one in charge when Yuri’s not here and I failed!” _

Yuya blinked now, eyes gold, Zarc stroked Yugo’s head with a soft and gentle hand. “It’s all right, my crystal. The danger is gone. You did quite well all things considered. I’m quite proud of you.”

Yugo whimpered. “I was out of control...I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Zarc sighed, but gave Yugo a gentle smile and a tight hug. He paused for a moment before blinking in confusion at what he felt. He looked at Yugo, his little boy felt...different in a way, but Zarc couldn’t tell how. He caressed Yugo’s cheek with a feathery touch. “Lets just go home, love. You need to rest, you must be exhausted to the bone.” 

“Um…before you do that, can someone explain to us what happened?” Alister asked.

“Also we are hiring an exorcist just to be sure,” Valon remarked, looking Raph up and down. “We have no idea if any of that is still in you.”

“He’s fine,” said Mieru, still trying to brush off the sight of three men kissing and cuddling like that in front of her eyes. “My crystal apple shows no signs of darkness in him. Yugo purified it completely.” 

“What was it anyway? And why was it inside Raphael?” Valon asked.

“It...felt familiar… as if I’ve had it possess me before.” Raphael muttered, shuddering at how that dark voice could be familiar with him.

“That… can’t be right can it? We’ve known each other our entire lives; you were never possessed like that,” Alister commented. 

“It’s a long story…” Zarc stated, still in Yuya’s body. ”Do you guys want to hear it?”

The three bikers looked at each other and nodded. “We have time,” Raphael answered

…

…

....

One lengthy story about ancient green stones, Atlantis, the Leviathan, knights turned into dragons and ten thousand years worth of souls stolen later...

Alister, Raphael, Valon, Yoko, Shun and Mieru stood stunned. 

“Heavy…” said Alister as he looked down at the item kept in his pocket. It was a destroyed action figure of a robot that he kept on him as a good luck charm. To think that, long ago, he kept it on hand because he had a deceased little brother...

“Can’t believe we had that kind of cruddy life,” Valon replied, shaking his head. “All because of some evil snake.”

“The Leviathan revels in destruction and chaos, it destroys lives and morality in order to gain followers, feeding on the Darkness in people’s hearts.” Yuto explained. “And it doesn’t matter if a loyal follower is defeated; it’s just one more soul to the call.” 

“And Guardian Dreadscythe was...a corrupted form of Eatos created by the Orichalcos?” Raphael whispered, pulling out the card for Eatos. He couldn’t believe the monster that has been on his side when he was a younger boy trying to not die on the streets of Maiami City could become so...evil.

Raphael heard the sound of hawk, knowing very well what it was he looked around out of habit, and he gasped when Guardian Eatos appeared beside him, white wings spread out and a forlorn look in her eyes.

“Hello Eatos,” Zarc greeted her. Raphael’s eyes widened that he wasn’t the only one who saw her, while Valon, Alister, Shun and Yoko looked around for her. Mieru had her crystal apple out and it felt like her breath was taken away at Guardian Eatos hovering by Raphael’s side. 

“_Lord Zarc,” _Eatos said while bowing her head respectfully. “_I am ashamed of unleashing _that side_ of me onto your son._ _I thought she vanished completely.”_

Zarc ran his hand through Yugo’s hair again lovingly. “You are forgiven, Eatos. The Darkness that the Leviathan's remnant left in your charge’s heart affected you too, I should have kept my eye on my boy as well.”

Yugo looked down ashamed, grasping onto Zarc’s hand, not wanting to let his Father go.. 

“It’s alright, my beautiful boy,” Zarc cooed in Yugo’s ear before kissing his cheek. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shut the bond down, I don’t think it helped with your rage,” he kept caressing Yugo’s face. “Do be more careful not to let that happen again, Eatos.”

_ “Of course, my Lord.”  _ Eatos replied with a bow. She then turned to a very shocked, very confused and very terrified Raphael.  _ “Please don’t be like that, Raphael…” _

But as Raphael looked at Eatos with sad guilty eyes, everyone else just saw him looking at empty space.

“Uh...why are you looking… Hey! Is there a spirit here that we can’t see?” Valon asked.

Raphael looked at Valon and nodded. “It’s Eatos,” he answered softly. 

Alister and Valon looked in alarm. They knew that Raphael had a special ability to see Duel Spirits, and they stopped questioning it a while back. But it was quite alarming that Zarc/Yuya was able to do the same thing.

“The Leviathan lost its hold on all of you,” Zarc reassured. “You do not have to worry.”

“‘All’?” Alister asked.

“Wait, you mean  _ us _ ?” Valon clarified. 

Zarc nodded once more. “The Leviathan was weakened; it could only take control of one at a time, and it thought if it beat Yugo it would be a quick way to regain its power. It became too impatient and greedy, and it made the mistake of trying to take my son. But it’s gone now. It will not return again. You are all free from any part of it now. None of you failed, so do not blame yourselves. Your guardians will remain with you Raphael, looking after all of you.” 

Zarc’s eyes glowed and Eatos appeared to all of them along with Raphael’s other guardians standing there. Kayest, Grarl, Elma, Baou, Ceal and Backup Gardna.

“WHAAAA?!” Mieru gasped. “Real live duel monsters...without Solid Vision?!”

Eatos sent a soft loving smile to Raphael, Alister and Valon. To them, they were like her children. “We promise to be by your side, all of you,” she promised the three before turning to Zarc. “Hail, Supreme Dragon King.” she said, bowing to Zarc.

“Hail!” The guardians shouted, each of them bowing before fading away with light like a shattered star. 

There was nothing but silence for a few moments before Zarc sighed. “It’s time to go home then,” he said and Yoko took a deep breath and released it in relief. 

As they left the arcade building, Mieru took one more glance at her crystal apple. It had been active way too many times today, and the last thing she needed was for it to sense that Orichalcos was  _ still  _ lingering in someone’s soul as a last ditch effort to save itself. She frowned as she looked far deep into her crystal apple, seeing shimmering and shifting colors inside, something powerful being unlocked. 

But that didn’t sound right at all...the glow was like the Orichalcos but it was pure and hopeful, and it certainly didn’t look like the gentle darkness that radiated in her Yuya’s soul...she wanted to say something, ask him to clarify things…

Instead, she sighed and shook her head. Perhaps this was just one of those things that was best discovered on its own. 

“Mieru,” Yoko whispered, seeing the young fortune teller slip her crystal apple away into her coin-shaped pouch. “Can you answer this question for me?”

“What is it, Yoko-san?” Mieru asked.

Yoko sighed. “At the very least...what’s in my future?”

Mieru shook her head. “...I don’t know. The future… everyone’s futures seem to be shifting and changing. But I do see something… a new visitor coming soon.”

“What?!” Yoko said. “What does this visitor look like? Are they good or evil?”

“I’m gonna have to do a full-on tarot reading for this,” Mieru muttered, rubbing her head. The only thing her crystal apple is showing her are two lights, one orange and one green. Not a lot to go on. “Once I figure that out, I’ll give you a call. What are you going to do in the meantime?”

“First, I think we should all rest,” Yoko said, hand on her forehead. She then noticed Shun’s attire change -- from armor based on a raven, it became an attire that she knew wasn’t there yesterday. She narrowed her eyes; there’s no way that he could’ve gotten money to pay for something like that, and certainly there was no way Shun would use money from Leo Corp. 

Yoko sighed as she pulled out her phone from the pocket of her coat, seeing a text message from Shuzo about tonight’s plan. They were going to a very pricey yakiniku restaurant for dinner, and Shuzo was going to introduce Yoko to his new daughter Serena, so everyone needed some rest before that for sure. 

And when they got to said restaurant? Well, Yoko planned to use all that money Reiji gave her to buy the most expensive bottle of sake they had. Sure it’d give her a huge hangover in the morning, but it’ll be worth it to just make her forget everything that just happened today.

**************

It was a very tense ride back home. Yuto suggested to take the shadows, but Yoko was having none of that. Instead, she, Raphael, Valon and Alister helped drop Mieru back at her house before heading back to the Sakaki household. 

Yuya rode with Yugo on his D-Wheel, hugging and nuzzling Yugo to give him comfort. But, it was more than that. For some odd reason, there was this odd sensation within Yugo that was attracting Yuya like moths toward a flame. He wanted it more than ever, wanted Yugo in his arms, safe and protected and not wanting anything to hurt his older brother ever again. 

While Yuto had the same feelings and wanted to kiss and hug his brother, he and Shun took the shadows because they outright refused to ride on the bikes with Raphael, Valon and Alister. It was nothing against them but Yuto and Shun thought it would be quite awkward to say the least. As such they were the first to get home. Yuto was quick to pushing Shun onto the couch before lying on top of him to give his treasure a firm kiss on the lips. The Sakaki pets stared at the two curiously, but Yuto paid no attention to them. It was fun when they had an audience.

Shun turned red once Yuto broke the kiss and saw the six animals tilting their heads. “My Prince...we shouldn’t be…”

“Shh…” said Yuto, placing a finger on Shun’s lips. “It’ll take a long time before they come home,” It’s true but the two of them didn’t notice the time flying by as they kept kissing one another, Yuto purring and nuzzling Shun, trailing kisses down his neck softly.

“My beautiful treasure,” Yuto cooed, tracing a finger across the beautiful collar. “I’m just buzzing with happiness.”

“I know you are but...” Shun breathed softly. “If you don’t mind, my prince…That sensation when you felt Lord Zarc shut off from you...could you explain? You and your brother looked ready to collapse.”

Yuto paused. “It was...about Ray.”

Shun raised an eyebrow. “Ray? Wait, the same one Ruri is being sacrificed for --”

A heavy silence filled the air before Shun asked, “Why? Why is she back?”

“She’s awake… that’s as far as we know, nothing else. And when she did awake, Father was hit with old memories and emotions that made him feel pain. Father doesn’t like us to feel his pain or sadness, so he shut himself off for a bit and cut the connection between us. But it was so sudden and shocking that Yuya and I and I believe Yugo and Yuri too almost collapsed, it was a bit scary.” Yuto looked down in shame. “I think that must’ve caused Yugo to become even more enraged than ever. Being angry for Yoko kaa-san being captured, the Orichalcos and then Father just suddenly cutting himself off must’ve hurt him so much.” 

“I’m sorry, my prince,” Shun whispered, giving Yuto a gentle kiss on his cheek, before Yuto gave him a gentle smile and placing a hand on his cheek, guiding Shun’s face towards him and kissing Shun’s lips gently. “I had no idea that Ray was such a trigger for Lord Zarc.”

“Don’t be. You wouldn’t have been able to know at first glance,” Yuto replied. “I wanted to let you know. Father doesn’t know what to do or how to react yet, and it’s best not to bring her up.”

Shin nodded. “Understood,” and leaned towards Yuto more, kissing him deeply and lovingly, making Yuto purr. Yuto responded by kissing Shun back happily, hand trailing down the older boy’s shoulder and down his arm.

“You looked quite lovely in that armor,” Yuto commented.

“Thank you...but I feel ashamed that I couldn’t do anything but watch.”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it, none of us actually did anything but watch. Only Father was able to get through to Yugo.”

“I know but…”

“Shhhh,” Yuto shushed Shun softly, placing his finger on Shun’s lips, before pulling him closer gently and kissing him more. “It’s okay. If it makes you feel better, you can train at our castle tomorrow. At the very least you can start with some of the basics like making yourself invisible or summoning feathers that act as daggers. You have a lot of new powers to discover now.”

Shun blushed as he lifted his neck for Yuto to lick. Aside from the mark on his back, Shun has just found out that he’s very sensitive whenever Yuto bites or licks there. It seems so sinful but he can’t help but indulge in this. There was no way for them to confess their feelings like this in Heartland.

“You’re so beautiful Shun,” Yuto whispered as he kept kissing Shun. 

But before they could get any further, or even think of doing anything more, they heard someone clearing their throat.

“Yuto, Shun...maybe you can find a quieter place to make out?”

Yuto and Shun looked up to find Yoko looking over them with a raised eyebrow. Yuya and Yugo were snickering at the lovebirds.

Shun looked a little mortified while Yuto just sighed. “Yes Kaa-san.” 

“Actually, why don’t you join your brothers in your ‘nest’. I would like to have a talk with Shun about his relationship goals.”

Shun looked like a deer caught in the headlight as Yuto popped another kiss to his cheek before heading upstairs with his brothers. Shun sat up as Yoko sat down next to him, a stern look in her eye.

“Just answer this, Shun,” said Yoko. “Where did you get that outfit?”

And for once, Shun would rather have been caught making out with Yuto than being interrogated.

…

…

…

As soon as they entered Yuya’s bedroom, Yugo removed his Duel Disk, chucked it onto Yuya’s bed and then collapsed onto the nest face first, burying it in the pillows. He was exhausted and absolutely ashamed of himself.

“Yugo~” Yuya purred and he and Yuto crawled towards Yugo, both wrapping their arms around Yugo and nuzzling him. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

“I feel horrible,” Yugo muttered. “I screwed up and I almost killed Kaa-san and her friends. I got so wound up in trying to rescue kaa-san that I didn’t ask Father what was going on. And then..Father just shut off…” he whimpered, looking at his brother with teary eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said pouting, eyes shining with tears.

Yuya and Yuto were quick to wipe the tears away; they never liked it when Yugo cried. Yugo was always such a beautiful energetic whirlwind of light and color so it hurt when he was so sad. That and he just felt so beautiful to hug and cuddle, even more so than usual. 

“Everything turned out alright, Yugo, it’s okay now,” Yuya whispered, taking Yugo’s face in his hands and prepping him with soft loving kisses. “You were amazing against the Leviathan, and Father and we are so proud of you.” 

Yuto wrapped his arms around Yugo, nuzzling him and prepping Yugo’s face with kisses as well 

Yugo continued to cry even as he transformed into his dragon state. Usually whenever the boys did that when they were sad, it was meant to say, “Please hold me, please don’t leave.” But Yuya and Yuto looked in shock when they saw Yugo’s wings. Eyes wide, mouths hanging open.

“What? What’s wrong?” Yugo asked in a small voice, still pouting. His brothers have stopped hugging him and kissing him and he didn’t want that. 

“Yugo…” Yuya whispered in wonder, Yugo’s wings looked breathtaking, enchanting and tantalizing, he couldn’t move his eyes away from them, the colors mesmerizing him and Yuto so much. They didn’t look like glass, but instead the wings around Yugo were pure  _ crystal.  _ They were a bright blue almost like ice, but they radiated with such a kaleidoscope of color that it was hard to look away.

Yuya blinked and his eyes turned gold with Zarc taking his place, but still in Yuya’s body. 

“F-father…?” Yugo whimpered, afraid as to what Zarc would want with him.

Zarc looked at Yugo’s wings and couldn’t help the smirk that adorned his lips, devilish proud and playful like a cat. He purred in delight as he reached out to touch them, and the wings began to glow at his touch, singing in pure joy

“Wha…” Yugo gasped, and Zarc’s smirk became sharper and more satisfied. 

“My beautiful Yugo,” Zarc whispered. “You’ve changed into something more.”

Yugo blinked before he looked down at his claws. They looked...different now with yellow scales over his palms. His tail was a navy blue color, sleek and deadly.

Yugo rushed to a mirror and picked it up, nearly dropping it when he saw the other changes. Similar blue scales around his neck, some maroon-colored ones around his eyes and two silver horns topping his head. 

“Wh...what’s happened to me?” Yugo said, staring at himself. “Why did I change?!” 

Zarc chuckled softly and stood up wrapping his arms around Yugo from behind. “It seems, my beautiful boy, that when you broke that accursed seal, you took its power, and now you have changed… developed... “ Zarc whispered, caressing Yugo’s cheek, and whispered in Yugo’s ear huskily. “I’m so proud of you my darling, look at you, you are magnificent,” he purred. “Mineminemineminemine...my beautiful shining crystal…”

Yugo shivered at the possessiveness, praise and love he was getting from his father, and he could feel clearly the love and awe from both his brothers, his father’s touches and words making him lightheaded, leaning back to Zarc’s chest, eyes falling down. 

“Papa…” Yugo sighed, tears in his eyes. “Thank you…” Zarc purred in Yugo's ear, placing a kiss on his cheek. 

“I wish Yuri was here to see this,” said Yuto, approaching Yugo caressing his face as well and kissing him. “He’d be so jealous that he didn’t get to see this for himself,” Yuto purred, his hand trailed over Yugo's colorful scales and his wings. "You look amazing. If he saw this, he’d bite you and make you so  _ numb _ with his venom.” 

Yugo shivered. “Yu-Yuri want...want Yuri to bite me,” he purred.    
  


Zarc chuckled. “Well, he’s a few dimensions away, but, I’m still here.” Zarc tilted Yugo’s neck slightly, and Yugo let him without a second thought before he gasped as Zarc sank his teeth into his neck, making him gasp and arch his back, eyes rolling to the back of his head, and knees getting weak.

“P-papa~” Yugo whimpered, shivering from pleasure.

_ “Oh, he’s so pretty!” _ Yuya cooed, seeing Yugo through his father’s eyes reacting to Father’s bite. Father’s bite was ten times more powerful than Yuri’s and only given on special occasions. The bite from Father was to symbolize how the four boys were such precious treasures to the Supreme Dragon King; no one could take them from him.  _ No one _ . But the venom did not exist without Father’s own body; had Father’s bite been filled with venom Yugo would have been a bigger mess by now…

Yuya paused at that. He couldn’t feel that type of comfort or pleasure as long as he was the host. He felt a pang of hurt in his heart that he swiftly masked with a smile. He knows he shouldn’t be doing so, but it’s a force of habit now. And besides Yugo and Father had been through enough today, he shouldn’t bother them with this. 

** _Come Yuto, bite your brother. _ ** Zarc commanded and Father’s word is law.

Yuto licked his lips and nodded, sinking his fangs into Yugo. Had the boy not been in their arms he would have fallen to the ground with two sets of fangs buried inside his skin. Yugo whimpered as pleasure coursed through his body. It wasn’t like Yuri’s bites but they were still powerful, filling his body with love and adoration. Their beautiful crystal has become so magnificent; they couldn’t wait to see the type of powers he had! 

Yugo whimpered, pleasure building in his mind more and more like a gentle flame growing larger and larger. His crystal wings flapped restlessly and he wrapped Yuto with his new tail, gasping and panting, feeling light-headed yet so good. 

Zarc’s golden eyes glowed as he sent waves of pride, possessiveness and love into Yugo. The euphoria was building more and more and in a few seconds Yugo's mind shattered once more as he gasped and launched backwards. His legs couldn’t support him anymore, his father catching him and letting Yugo lean on his chest, with Zarc’s claws running through Yugo’s hair with a wicked smirk on his face. 

“Who do you belong to Yugo?” Zarc asked, knowing the answer already but it never ceased to make him so elated to hear it.. 

“... to Father…” Yugo answered and Zarc’s smirk became bigger and sharper.

“Who do you love above all else?”

“Father…” Yugo answered with a dopey smile on his face.

“Good,” Zarc purred, his claws trailing down Yugo’s back pressing them between his shoulder blades making Yugo gasp and whimper. “I need to teach you how to hone in on your anger. Yes, I know that you want to lash out but you have to choose your battles.” 

Yugo breathed heavily, as Zarc caressed his cheek, with a smirk he said, “I should be brief for now since Yoko is expecting you three to be down in an hour or two. So listen well,  _ Children of my dark soul _ ...”

Yugo, Yuto and Yuya all gasped softly before they fell into a familiar trance, minds open and ready for their Father’s words to bind them to him even more. Zarc cooed as he ran a finger across Yugo’s lips. “While I don’t need your brothers in this trance I see no reason  _ not  _ to put them under my spell once more. You all deserve it, don’t you agree?”

All Yugo and Yuto could do was nod in agreement and Zarc smirked when he felt Yuya happy. “Good boys,” Zarc praised and his boys shivered in response. They loved being such good boys for their father. 

Zarc caressed Yuto’s cheek, making the boy have a dreamy smile on his lips and lean to Zarc’s touch automatically with a happy sigh. “My dear crystal,” Zarc said, turning to Yugo. “You have no idea how proud I am of you for fighting off the Orichalcos like that,” Zarc whispered. “But now, let’s fix your impulsiveness, shall we?”

“Yes...Father…” Yugo replied in a soft dreamy voice..

“Good boy,” Zarc purred before placing a small peck on Yugo’s lips making Yugo whine in happiness. “Now then, how does it feel whenever you let instinct take control?”

“Like...a spring,” Yugo answered. “When you press on a string, it’s storing up lots of energy, but then when you let it go all that energy is unleashed.”

“Good, that energy explodes, leading you to act rather than think, a fight or flight reaction. And while you did need that in your dimension when you were a commoner running from those officers known as  _ Security _ , that is certainly not what you are, or what you will become. You are a prince, my sweet Crystal, a future king. You must learn to temper yourself, to control your instincts. If you go charging in to every single thing that aggravates you, what does that leave you?”

“...in… trouble?” Yugo asked, lips trembling. It was true; he clashed with Yuto because he thought Yuto was Yuri. And he nearly became possessed by the Orichalcos because he jumped in to “rescue” Yoko...

“Relax now, clear your mind, following your instincts in some situations is necessary but you need to learn to quell that anger and channel it in another way,” Zarc hummed. “Once you are back from celebrating, I want to try a new exercise with you. But for now, my shining crystal, my beloved phantom, my shooting star,” he trailed the back of his hand over Yugo’s cheek. “ I want you all to fall into the darkness now, your minds clear and empty from everything except my voice. I wish to groom you a little, strengthen my love and control. Do you mind?” 

“No...Father…” all three boys answered. “We hear and obey…” the three of them shivered when they said it. 

“Good, good…” Zarc purred, setting Yugo and Yuto onto the nest, stroking their hair with his claws. “Relax,” he whispered, letting Yuya return to his body, watching his youngest child smile with a dazed look in his red eyes, stroking Yuya’s hair as well with his mental touch. “Feel my love for you, from deep inside your souls. Even though we were far apart and you did not remember me, it was still there. Waiting. Waiting for you all to reunite. Remember that no matter what happens, you are always mine. Always my children, my precious treasures, the sons of the Supreme Dragon King. You are forever under my love and control, and you crave it more than anything.” 

The three boys purred. “Crave your love and control… your treasures…” 

“Good boys,” Zarc whispered, placing small touches and kisses on the boys’ cheeks, foreheads and lips making the boys mewl and purr. Yuto and Yuya sighed as they also transformed into their draconic states, nuzzling into Yugo and taking in his new scent. He felt so different now, more beautiful, more alluring. But he was still their Yugo, their shining Crystal. 

Yuto and Yugo nuzzled their older brother lovingly, reveling in their father’s touch and kisses and love, and with every small touch and whisper they fell deeper and deeper into Zarc’s dark spell. It was heaven to them, to drift away and not have to think about pain or agony...just fall into this beautiful sea of love, protection, possession, desire all ringed around their Father’s control.

Zarc looked at Yugo and searched through his memories. He frowned a little, seeing all of the hardships Yugo had to go through. Unlike Yuya, who had a loving family, Yuto who had friends by his side and even Yuri at least had a bed to sleep on. But Yugo? Yugo had only the clothes on his back and the cards he paid for by collecting as much money as he could through whatever means he could. Any toy Yugo had was only there for as long as no one found them to break them apart for whatever can be salvaged or for how they were pawned off for enough money to buy day-old bread.

Yugo suffered so much, went on his crusade for the  _ one person who meant so much to him _ and had no one else to love him. Zarc wanted to cry, all his precious sons had so many hardships in their lives and he wasn’t there to help. It’s no wonder Yugo had reacted too quickly to think of asking him for help or even call his brothers. He wanted to lift his boys’ spirit up, and he knew just what to do. 

Glad that Yugo placed his Duel Disk on Yuya’s bed before he crashed into the nest, Zarc began searching through it, and opened the compartment for the Extra Deck, gasping at what he saw there. A new Synchro monster, a new dragon.  _ Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon _ . 

Oh he was beautiful, just like his child. The power, the beauty, the strength that showed that Yugo was not just a mere commoner. Zarc took both Clear Wing and Crystal Wing in hand before placing his other hand over Yuya’s pendulum. The pendulum began to shine as Zarc concentrated on Yugo’s memories, both old and new. They would blend together, create a new dragon that symbolized the energy and spirit of his shining crystal. That no matter what happened, Yugo would never ever give up. 

He heard Yugo mewl in the nest and shift comfortably, a small smile on his lips, his two brothers purring in his ears nuzzling, cuddling and kissing him. Zarc took the new cards, not sure if he wanted to wake the boys up from their trance yet. And it’s not quite fair that only the three of them should be like that; perhaps he should pay a visit to Yuri when these three little hatchlings were asleep. His oldest son did have the hardest time accepting and remembering him. Zarc didn’t like that at all. He wanted Yuri under his spell too, in a deep, deep trance where he would wrap the boy in his arms, run his claws through those soft violet and pink locks, those beautiful rose quartz eyes glazed over with a happy smile and a far away look in his eyes, feeling Zarc’s love and control and nothing else and reciting how much he loved being under Father’s control, wanted to destroy Academia and the Dimension that caused him so much grief. 

He wanted to bite his sons, claim them as his once more, fill them with Darkness and love, watch them be lost in his venom, writhing in mindless pleasure, unable to do anything except what he commanded them to do. To trust him only, to obey his words without question, to become one once more. He shivered before crawling to the three boys and running his claws through their hair, making them smile and mewl and wanting more and more of his touch.

He purred in their ears, whispering more thoughts of love and obedience, of wickedness and darkness and mischief and pleasure. He couldn’t wait to see them unleash chaos and destruction in the Synchro Dimension. He wanted to overthrow the system that treated his son, a  _ prince _ as a mere Common, topple this “King” Jack Atlas and make Yugo the true ruler.

...which reminds him, Zarc needed to see what was going on with Yugo’s precious treasure later on. Rin, was it? Yes. Underneath her sparkling amber eyes and green hair like Spring was a queen, a queen of ice and snow. One with loyalty and love for his son that mirrored Yugo’s own for her. A Queen with the touch of a witch, quite rare. She accepted power with no hesitation and worded their deal well. She will make a  _ fine  _ queen, and perhaps he could use her image and influence on Yugo to reign him in, to unleash another side to him that was not so brash and angry but wicked and deadly as all his other children have. Another dip into Yugo’s memories had Zarc see a dream Yugo had this morning; of Rin in a beautiful black dress like shadows have draped themselves onto her pale body and the two in bed, hugging each other and vowing to become strong enough to usurp the current ‘ruler’ of their dimension and make it their own. What a clever little girl, with Yugo asking her to be his mate, his little hatchling was deep in love. Perhaps Yugo would need to be dressed in a white robe with blue trim to complete the pair. Yes, a beautiful prince of winter next to his queen of ice and shadows. 

After they come back from the celebration, he will put Yugo in a powerful trance once more and start his training. They had little time to waste so he had to make every moment count. Zarc ran his fingertips lightly over Yugo’s face, trailing them over his lips, wanting to kiss them, spread the darkness like ink into Yugo’s body and mind, changing him from within..

“Yuya, Yuto, kiss Yugo,” Zarc commanded. “And don’t stop. Give him all your love, make him understand that you love him and that he is never alone. And Yugo, you are not to move a muscle. You are to feel everything that your little brothers give you.”

Yuya and Yuto smiled before they placed kisses on Yugo’s cheek and neck. Yugo smiled and purred in response; he loved it when his little brothers showed affection to him, and he needed lots of it right now. 

“Good boys,” Zarc whispered softly hovering on top of Yugo and bending down kissing his lips firmly and lovingly, coaxing them open before pouring darkness inside, Yugo moaned, arching his back, mouth open to receive this precious gift from Father himself. If Yugo could think, he’d noticed that the taste of this darkness was sweet, like candy that he could only taste on festivals and his birthday.

Zarc remembered a little potion he used to make, black as coal but tasted like nectar. He gave it to his boys before bed, making them so sleepy, their minds open for every little suggestion and touch. The potion would help erase any “bad” thoughts from their minds. No, his boys didn’t deserve bad thoughts, wicked little devils that caused distress and worry like being pricked by thousands of tiny needles.

Zarc especially loved giving it to his little Silver Phoenix; his mind was immune to magical control but things that affected his body and natural hypnosis worked just fine. He wondered if they would see their phoenix again, they had missed him dearly. His silver hair, crystal blue eyes, his beautiful wings that shimmered like starlight. He was so warm to the touch too. Yuya, Yuto, Yugo and Yuri just loved cuddling with him and their Phoenix would comply with a smile. 

This dark little potion always made them relax, made from the flowers that only bloom when the moon shone like the sea, and he always did add a drop or two of his own venom in. Not enough for any of its effects to kick in, but enough to make the potion stronger and addictive. There was no immunity to his venom. Just one sip was enough to have them hooked, sweet, tantalizing and corrupting. He couldn’t make it without access to his body but perhaps he can ask Yuto to help gather the ingredients next time he has a chance to teleport to their castle. One intensive dose should be good for all his boys to drink. 

“Yugo~” Zarc cooed after he broke the kiss. He loved the way Yugo’s mouth twitched a little, following his lips wanting the kiss to last. “I wanna give you something…”

He chuckled as he watched Yuto and Yuya smile and continue to deliver soft kisses to Yugo. They weren’t told to stop, but it didn’t matter. Each kiss made them feel happier than ever before. “When you boys wake from this trance, every little whisper and command will be ingrained into your very souls, as natural to have these thoughts as breathing. You will not question them, and you will obey Father, because I know best for you boys, and Father loves you  _ so much _ .”

“Father loves us so much,” they parroted happily.

Zarc purred. “Good~ Now then, _ Dark soul disobey _ .” 

There was a pause as Zarc watched his sons close their eyes. Then, slowly they began to wake up, feeling more refreshed than ever. Yugo blinked and stretched, Yuya and Yuto on either side of him nuzzling and purring.

Zarc chuckled, “What cute little kittens,” he said making the two of them blush. “Oh I could just look at you sleep and cuddle with one another all day. But you have to get ready; get into something nice. Especially  _ you _ , Yugo. This will be the first time Yuzu and her father will see you. You want to make a good impression, don’t you?”

Yugo blushed slightly. “Y-yes papa,” he answered, slowly sitting up. 

“Oh, darling, I also have a present for you,” Zarc said, taking over Yuya’s body once more. 

“A present?” Yugo asked, blinking. 

Zarc grinned. “Yes sweetheart, for doing such a good job and defeating the Leviathan. I made you a few new cards for your deck.”

“Really?!” Yugo squealed in delight and crawled faster to Zarc a big smile on his face, eyes shining and sparkling. Zarc handed the five of them to Yugo with a smile. 

“Pendulum cards!” He gasped, seeing them. Speedroid Dominobutterfly, Speedroid Marble Machine, Speedroid Hexasaucer, Speedroid Passinglider and Clear Wing Fast Dragon. Tears of happiness filled his eyes and he had a wide grin that stretched from ear to ear before throwing himself at his father to hug him tight, Yugo rarely, if ever, received any cards. And most of them were after he saved money from tournament wins (which were few). “I love them papa! Thank you! Thank you!” 

“Anything for you my love. You will need all the strength that you can when you return to your dimension,” said Zarc. 

Yugo nodded, nuzzling his father before standing up and headed towards his Duel Disk, adding the new Pendulum cards to his deck before rummaging through the clothes Yoko bought him for tonight in the cabinet. He had to look nice; this will be the first time he gets to eat at such a nice restaurant and he always saw what Tops looked like whenever they went out. He remembered people on dates where the men were in suits and ties...well the closest Yugo could get was a simple white long-sleeved buttoned blouse and black dress pants, so that would have to do. Yugo also remembered the earrings Yoko bought him and slipped them on. Thankfully they could be clipped on so they were easy to remove.

Yuto ended up wearing a long sleeved purple button up shirt with a black open vest along with black slacks with thin white stripes, even remembering to put on the bracers with lapis lazuli stones over his wrists. Yuya had a bit of trouble though; he didn’t have a fancy outfit that wasn’t some sort of costume for performing. He eventually decided on a white dinner jacket Yoko bought for him a while back with red shoulders with an orange dinner shirt underneath and some olive slacks before swapping out his normal collar for the ruby and emerald encrusted one. There, now they looked quite fancy.

“Boys!” said Yoko, knocking on the door. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah we are,” Yuya answered, glad that he and his brothers returned back to normal. Last thing they needed was to show Shuzo-san that they weren’t...100% human.

Yoko opened the door and smiled, the boys all looked so handsome and well dressed, and they seemed to be in a better mood than when they arrived here. Yoko herself was cleaned up in a dark blue short sleeved top decorated with silver sequins to make a mermaid’s tail and black leggings. “Alright then, let’s go. Shuzo, Yuzu and Serena are waiting for us there.”

“Yes Kaa-san,” Yugo said and the three of them walked out the door. 

“Oh and Yuto,” Yoko remarked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah?” Yuto stopped and looked back at Yoko who flashed something in her hand. A card. But not a Duel Monsters one. In fact, it was a card that her name printed on it. “Oh…”

“Next time, ask me before you start making such  _ extravagant _ purchases,” she remarked, slipping her credit card back into the purse strapped across her shoulder.

Yuto blushed. “Y-yes Yoko kaa-san, I’m sorry. I...didn’t think you would mind.” 

Yoko sighed. “I don’t mind, but next time tell me, yeah?”

Yuto nodded. “Yes Yoko-Kaa-san…” 

The five of them left the house and rode Yoko’s car to the restorant to meet Shuzo, Yuzu and Serena. Yoko would glance in her rearview mirror every now and then to see her sons cuddling and having their hands on one another. She could probably be able to explain why Yuto and Yugo had similar faces, but she wouldn’t be able to explain how they were so...close.

She sighed as she parked the car and the five of them exited, heading to the entrance of the restaurant where Shuzo, Yuzu and Serena were waiting for them. Yoko looked up at the name of this restaurant,  _ Fire Kraken,  _ and wondered why Shuzo would pick one of the most  _ expensive _ yakiniku restaurants to dine tonight. But this was Shuzo’s choice, so she won’t complain (and she has enough money to pay for all of them if she has to).

“There you are!” said Shuzo. “So Yoko, let me introduce you to my new daughter. Yoko-san, this is Serena Hiragi.”

“I know,” said Yoko, smiling at Serena’s dress that reached her knees, the bodice began with black and descended into white, as did the skirt, with the full moons at the hem...and then took a glance at how Serena had a tattoo on her left arm that she knew wasn’t there before. “We’ve already met.”

“You have?!” asked Shuzo. “When?”

“Back at the Battle Royale,” Yoko replied. “Before she confronted that ‘exchange student’ Dennis MacField.”

At the mention of that name, Shun softly growled but it was quickly masked with a look of calm once Yuto placed a hand over his.

“What were you even doing there in the first place?” asked Shuzo, remembering the very brief footage of Yoko in her old biker attire throwing an Obelisk Force soldier over her head and onto his back.

“Uh...that’s a bit of a long story…” Yoko answered, patting Yugo’s shoulder. “And this is Yugo, I don’t believe you and Yuzu have met him yet.”

Yuzu took a good look at Yugo fiddling with the sleeve of his blouse. She could see a lot of Yuya in him, but he seems a little shy and awkward around them. It’s like he never experienced anything as simple as going out to eat a restaurant as he was either adjusting his collar or running a finger down his cheek nervously.

Yuya rubbed Yugo’s back and Yuto adjusted his collar. “You look fine, Yugo,” Yuto said with a sweet smile.

“Yeah, don’t be so nervous,” said Yuya softly with an encouraging tone. 

And that was when Yuzu noticed something was wrong.

There were  _ three _ versions of Yuya close together and her bracelet  _ wasn’t _ reacting to them. Whenever Yuto and Yuya were in close proximity, her bracelet teleported them away. Why wasn’t it working now?

“Oh,” said Shuzo, looking at Yugo. “You’re the Synchro doppelganger of Yuya, right?”

“Yeah,” Yugo nodded.

“Then...why does your name sound like…”

“Well then…” Yoko cut him off, clapping her hands just before Yugo could snap at him. “Let’s all get inside and pray that nothing life-threatening happens tonight. I hope you guys are hungry because I’m gonna be piling on lots of food on the grill tonight!”

Yoko opened the door and pushed everyone inside before they could protest, just praying that Zarc or anything  _ associated _ with him didn’t ruin this nice, peaceful dinner...

Unfortunately, she didn’t notice the five Dragon Vassals that had followed them there. Also Yoko, horror movie enthusiast as she was, should have known the certain cliche to  _ not _ push your luck and jinx your night, as the universe is, in fact, an absolute bitch.

_ “So…”  _ Joey remarked, looking at the restaurant’s red and gold walls, the painted image of a large red kraken with various skewered meat and vegetables in its tentacles making his mouth water. _ “What do we do now?” _

_ “I think the best thing is for the Pharaoh and I to go back to the Supreme King’s castle and warn everyone there,”  _ Yugi suggested.  _ “We have to be prepared for anything. Lord Zarc’s feelings for Ray are...conflicted.” _

_ “That’s an understatement,”  _ Joey remarked.

_ “Be careful,”  _ said Mokuba. 

_ “We will,”  _ Atem replied before staring at Seto. Seto just looked back and nodded his head before he and Yugi held hands and cocooned themselves with their ebony and crimson wings and vanished like smoke rising high into the air.

_ “Let’s just hope this night ends well,”  _ Seto prayed, and he rarely prayed for miracles..

But it seemed like he too had forgotten to not push his luck in situations such as this.


	16. Chapter 8 (Part 5): Dancing in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of tension at a barbecue, everyone watches movies and Zarc has a ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi we're back and please read this because God, oh God we added so much intense scen to the point of this almost going explicit.
> 
> Warning, Warning, Warning and Warning!
> 
> This is very incestuous, more than before insinuates, Zarc is in the middle of it, so warning big big warning about him. 
> 
> RayXZarc is a thing in this fic. You guys are gonna have a lot of whiplash moments here to be honest. GPQ and I have toed the line pretty close so, good luck with that, and I hope you like it. 
> 
> ...Oh dear God
> 
> GPQ: There's plenty of references to previous YGO characters too. Oh and as for those film references we kinda wrote that Serena uses the movies as a way to communicate. And for Yuzu, we're toning down her tsundere tendencies all the way to zero becuase Azure and I DESPISE that trope in general, especially on female characters in YGO. It's not cute, it's not adorable or creative. It just isn't.
> 
> Now despite what we wrote the fact is it could have been more explicit, and GPQ and I have a discord where aside from talking to each other run a small what Ifs and RPs to discuss a scene, and by god we have wrote so much smut it has Hentai Labels on them. 
> 
> So here's the thing, if you want us to write smut on this fic or a separate fic within the same AU or a close one, tell us in the comments. 
> 
> If you want Quarto to be explicit, vote in the Comments of Quarto.
> 
> We hope you enjoy this. And Chapter 9 has had all of its duels written already, so hopefully the next chapter will not take that long, even though we are working on GPQ's MO fic.

The eight people entered the restaurant, where they were overwhelmed with the smells of smoke, grilled meat, garlic and chilies, and sat down in the back, trying to converse with one another before they would order the food to grill in front of them. Serena and Yugo were the most curious about how the restaurant worked -- you can order what types of food to grill and then cook it in front of you -- while Shun and Yuto looked in silence. They hadn’t had a meal like this since Heartland; actually they were supposed to go and have a meal like this with their friends in celebration of all of them passing their exams. Then Academia arrived and now they were lucky enough to get bread and uncontaminated water for breakfast.

“This feels...unfair…” Shun muttered. Here he was in a new set of clothes, having a pretty expensive dinner with Yuto while Kaito, Sayaka and Allen are probably glad to find some day-old-bread or cans of soup for dinner and Ruri was still stuck in Academia. Did he truly deserve any of this right now?

“It’s okay,” said Yuto, nuzzling Shun. “We deserve a chance to relax. Nothing good will come out of us being stressed out and weak. We might not have another chance like this for a long time.”

Shun nodded his head as Yuto placed a quick peck on Shun’s cheek, causing Shuzo’s jaw to drop to the floor.

“Uh….” he said, noticing the two boys. “Are they…”

“Yes, they’re boyfriends,” Yoko replied. “There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

“No, not that. It's just, well it’s still kinda hard getting used to the fact that Shun was masquerading as a student for LDS and he’s in love with a boy with Yuya’s face. I mean, I can’t see Yuya as someone into anyone else except Yuzu -- OW!”

“Dad! Stop embarrassing me!” Yuzu said, _ harisen _in hand.

After Shuzo apologized, a waiter arrived to ask what barbecue set they wanted before setting up the grill on the table by placing a sheet of wax paper on it and drizzling it with oil. Yugo licked his lips; he couldn’t _ wait _ to eat!

“So…” Shuzo began. “Seeing as I know what Xyz and Fusion are like...Yugo...could you explain to me what’s it like in Synchro?”

Yugo immediately began chatting away, explaining the divide between Tops and Commons, how those who were arrested by Security were sent to the Facility, the Friendship Cup and his dream to enter it. Shuzo listened, enraptured by the tales before questioning more about Heartland from Yuto and Shun. Yoko and Yuya left the table to get beverages and prepare dipping sauces for everything that was going to be grilled (“You won’t be bothered to get up from your seat after this,” Yoko said). All in all, everything was going smoothly.

Well, for the boys and Yoko that is. 

The atmosphere between the two girls was tense. Serena was looking anywhere but Yuzu, while Yuzu's eyes turned from staring at her own bracelet to Serena's wrist where the tattoo was. 

There were a lot of questions in Yuzu’s mind that she kept holding back from asking Serena when they were at the Kame Game Shop. At the very least, she wanted Serena to experience the life of a normal person before they got thrown into a war without knowing what lay ahead. Serena needed this after all, she was never a normal girl, never had friends, never did anything normal girls her age did. She knew there was a lot that Serena needed to experience and she wanted to give her that.

But now she wanted answers.

Yuzu looked at Serena, more specifically at the tattoo around her wrist and sighed. She had to ask sooner or later, even if it was uncomfortable. Her heart was beating fast, but she steeled herself and began. “Serena…”

“Yeah?” Serena asked turning to Yuzu 

Yuzu sighed again. “Be honest with me...where’s your bracelet?” she said, pointing to Serena’s wrist.

Serena flinched and covered the tattoo with her other hand immediately. “I...I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Yuzu shook her head as she placed a hand on Serena’s wrist, running a thumb over the inked moon. Serena was too honest; she wasn’t used to lying or covering up her emotions like Yuya. “Last night, your bracelet was on and I know you didn’t remove it at all. Don’t tell me you left it at home or you removed it when you took a shower because I would’ve seen it in the bathroom when I entered. You had that bracelet on since you were born and you had it on you up till now; why would you somehow lose it?”

“I...uh….I threw it away because it was a reminder of the Professor and how I wanted him to acknowledge me!” Serena hastily blurted out.

“That’s a lie.” Yuzu replied. “You can’t physically get rid of your bracelet. I know. I tried.”

“Y...you don’t know that!”

“I told you I already tried it Serena, I couldn’t throw it away no matter how much I wanted to.” Yuzu looked at Serena with pleading eyes, begging Serena to tell her. “You also acted weird when Dad gave me this…” Yuzu rummaged through her bag, pulled out the silk pouch and then opened it. “And when you heard me say that name…”

“What name?” Serena’s heart hammered in her chest. She didn’t want Yuzu to keep this up; she hated that she had to lie to her sister. She felt like she was failing the people that finally trusted and loved her. If she tells the truth she disappoints Lord Zarc...but if she doesn’t tell Yuzu, she disappoints her sister. 

If Yuzu knew about this conundrum, she would’ve told what Serena was facing is a “Morton’s Fork” scenario: no matter what choice you chose, you end up going through trouble no matter what. But all Yuzu could see was that Serena was troubled and she had to slowly break through Serena’s bluntness to get the answers she wanted.

“...Ray Akaba,” Yuzu repeated, and Serena visibly flinched at that name. That was all the evidence Yuzu needed to know that Serena knew something about this.

“Akaba…” Serena stammered. “Um, there’s gotta be plenty of people with that last name in this dimension. It’s just a coincidence.”

“There’s no such thing as coincidence, only the inevitable,” Yuzu recited as if she was an oracle reciting this to a frightened general. “Tell me Serena, are there any people named Ray Akaba that somehow have faces like us? Or somehow know someone that goes by the name of _ Zarc _? That just so happens to have the same face as Yuya and his counterparts?”

“Wh-where did you hear _ his _ name?” Serena asked, looking at Yuzu with wide frightened eyes. No one was supposed to know about Lord Zarc except those he chose to be told, Yuzu shouldn’t have known a thing about him or even his name!

Yuzu looked down and traced a finger over the eye of the dragon pendant. “I have...memories, _ her _ memories. I know their history, at least… part of it, and I just, I don’t understand it. Serena, the memories I saw, they were...they were _ happy _.”

“Ha-happy?!”

“Yeah, but now...why do I feel...why does _ she _feel this badly, it’s just sadness, regret, rage, conflict. I don’t understand. Please, if you know anything, please you have to tell me, what happened to them?!” 

This was absolutely bad and Serena’s fault. She was cornered and usually when she was corenred she would fight back with whatever she can; kick, bite, claw, headbutt her way against the ones attacking her, or summon her monsters to deal with those who were stupid enough to challenge her. But she couldn’t do that here. This wasn’t Academia, and Yuzu wasn’t one of its students.

“Nothing,” she said, wanting to run away. “I...I don’t know anything, Yuzu. Drop the subject, please you have to.”

“I can’t drop it, I’m a part of this now!” Yuzu yelled, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. Shuzo looked up to see his daughter angry. And with the fires from the grill growing, Yuzu looked madder than she ever had been over Yuya’s usual tomfoolery. “And I can tell that you know something about this, and you just learned this recently.”

Yuto and Yugo looked up and gasped in alarm. The thing in Yuzu’s hand...it couldn’t have been…!

At this time, Yoko and Yuya had returned with drinks and dipping sauces while the waitress moved a three-shelf serving dolly filled with plates of vegetable skewers, beef, pork, chicken and seafood waiting to be grilled. Serena looked up but Yuzu wasn’t aware of the audience, as she pointed at the pendant in her hand.

_ No…No way... _ Yuya thought, seeing what Yuzu had in her hand. _ Is that… _

_ Father’s pendant?! _He, Yuto and Yugo thought in panic, fear and outrage. Shun himself had no idea why everyone else was panicking, but he knew it was a bad sign.

Tears started to gather in Serena’s eyes. “Stop it, Yuzu! Don’t you understand it’s for your own good that you don’t ask what’s going on?” She exclaimed. 

“No I don’t because I have no idea what’s going on,” Yuzu said, voice calm despite feeling anger, hatred, confusion in her mind from Ray. “I want answers, Serena. This concerns me, too.” 

“No it doesn’t!” 

“It does, Serena!”

“I said drop it!” Serena shouted before slapping Yuzu’s cheek in a fit of panic. 

It was as if time and sound just stopped. Everyone froze in place, Serena looked at Yuzu’s wide eyed face as her free hand touched right where Serena hit her, before slowly looking down at her shaking hand. She shook her head before she started to retreat slowly, then sprinted to a run to the bathroom. 

That woke Yuzu up from the stunned silence. “Serena! Serena, No, wait!” She yelled and followed Serena to the bathroom, placing the pendant back on the silk pouch, ignoring the five person audience as she focused on the only person who mattered right now.

“This is bad, this is bad, this is bad…” Yuya muttered, eyes on the pendant. “W...where did that...how is that..._ why _ is that…”

Upon Yoko seeing the same reactions on Yuto and Yugo’s faces, this only meant one thing: this was something related to their Father and Ray.

Yoko reached out and picked the pendant up. One look at the pendant and her sons’ stunned faces told her exactly who the pendant belonged to, but she needed the answers as to _ where _ and _ how _ it ended up in Yuzu’s possession. 

“Shuzo,” Yoko began, showing off the necklace. “Where did you get this?”

“Uh...would you believe it was left inside the same basket Yuzu was in alongside her bracelet?” Shuzo began, using his pair of tongs on a skewer of mushrooms..

“That’s… why would _ Yuzu _ have it?” Yoko asked, confused. The pendant clearly belonged to Zarc, by all accounts the pendant should have at least been with one of the boys, so why was it with Yuzu? Unless…

Yoko turned to Yuya. “Yuya… I wasn’t told the whole truth, was I? Tell me...what was the _ real _relationship between your dad and one Ray Akaba? Because the way you talked about her I was led to believe you barely knew her before she betrayed him.”

Yuya sighed and the three brothers looked down, also deciding to set their numerous plates of vegetables by the side while Yoko began picking up pieces of sliced squash to place on the grill.

“Wait, ‘Your father’...Akaba...Yoko...are you saying that Yusho was cheating on some woman named Ray and Yuzu is actually _ his _ child, not mine?!” Shuzo gasped. 

“No, of course not!” Yoko sighed. “First off, if there really was a Ray Akaba, then we would’ve learned about her a long time ago. And second, I’m not talking about Yusho. I’m talking about Yuya’s..._ Biological _ father, I guess we can call him. His name is Zarc.”

“How would Yuya know about him? He’s only known you and Yusho,” Shuzo asked. 

“It’s a... long story,” Yoko replied before turning to the boys. “Well?”

Yuya sighed and paused with a tilt of his head to the side, seeming to listen to something. “Ray and Father’s relationship was… complicated.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Yuto remarked.

“Yuto,” Yuya said softly. 

“It wasn’t!” Yuto turned to Yoko and sighed, before talking softly. “Father _ loved _ Ray, it was that simple, and she loved him back,” Yuto whispered. “For three years they slowly fell in love. But one day, she found out what he was… what we _ all _were, and she feared him. She broke his heart that day, when he confirmed the truth.”

Yoko placed a hand over her chin. “This still doesn’t seem like the full story. Is there something you boys aren’t telling me?”

The three of them shrugged, trying to avoid the elephant in the room. 

Yoko sighed. “So why didn’t you tell me that Ray was your father’s...girlfriend?...lover?”

“She was practically his betrothed... well, fiance,” Yuya corrected. 

Yoko and Shuzo stood there stunned. Shun knew better than to react and was just working on plating the meats and vegetables on the grill “That bad, huh?” Yoko asked.

“He really did love her,” Yuya continued. “Father...doesn’t exactly look his age you know, we had to blend in somehow.. So he created his own deck and started participating in tournaments, he met Ray there. And the first thing she did when she approached him one day was to call him an arrogant dick and challenge him into a duel that ended in a draw. They were kind of inseperable after that.” 

“...but if the two loved each other so much, why did Ray go and take those cards, destroy Zarc and then cause this mess with the dimensions and her father trying to revive her by sacrificing Yuzu and the other girls with her face?” Yoko questioned. In horror stories, the innocent maiden would be doing something like this; she loved the monster but she knew that her love of humankind was more important.

“Wha...wha….” Shuzo gasped, looking like someone shoved hot peppers into his mouth. “He knew that Professor Akaba was planning on uniting other dimensions and carding people, but now he was going to resurrect _ his _daughter through the sacrifice of four girls?! Two of them being Shuzo’s own daughters?! “Yoko...please tell me that this is from some horror series or movie or book that you read late at night...this isn’t real. That...that Professor can’t be...not my daughters…”

“It’s not, and there are two other girls that are currently in his clutches; one of them being Shun’s little sister, the other Yugo’s girlfriend,” Yoko replied, Yugo’s face turned red at Rin being called his girlfriend. “But don’t worry, things are going to be okay. Rin and Ruri are being protected, somewhat, by Yuya’s other brother Yuri back at Academia and -- ”

“Okay? OKAY?!” Shuzo shouted, nearly knocking over a plate of sliced pork belly when he waved his arms to the air. Thankfully, Shun grabbed it in time. “The Professor is trying to bring back _ his _ daughter, one that we’ve never even heard about until now, and he needs _ mine _ to do it and apparently Yuya and his…’brothers’ have a real biological father named Zarc and apparently they’re actually _ dragons _ ! I mean If they have a biological father...who even is their _ mother _?" 

Yoko paused. That thought never occurred to her. Yuya and his brothers were alive for centuries _ before _ Ray was even born. “Shuzo is right. Yuya, who was your mother or mothers?"

"We... don't have a mom, except you, kaa-san.” Yugo confessed. “We've only ever had Father.”

“Wait, so he became _ pregnant _ with you four?!” Shuzo exclaimed, causing Yoko to whack him across the head for that remark. “OW!”

“I’ve made up my own theories and questions about these guys but male pregnancy is a line I don’t cross,” Yoko remarked.

“Well how else am I supposed to understand how these four boys were born if there wasn’t a mother the...wait…” Shuzo paused, recalling what Serena said. The fourth counterpart of Yuya is from Academia, aka the “evil doppelganger”. “There’s a _ fourth _ boy that looks like Yuya...he’s from Fusion, right?”

“He looks like this,” said Yoko, pulling out her phone to reveal the photo she took of Yuri, Yugo, Yuto and...Zarc a few days ago. “He, uh, he was supposed to take Yuzu back to Academia because he’s the ‘watchdog’ of Professor Akaba...but he’s not as bad as he seems because he was truly lonely and treated as a monster by everyone and he didn’t remember his life as one of Zarc’s sons and -- “

“And he’s from the same place where they _ card people _?!” Shuzo asked.

“Well, Yuri _ did _ card those two exchange students before I caught up to him…” Yoko admitted, shuddering a little when she remembered the panicked looks on Halil and Olga’s faces. “He does feel sorry for what he did and now he’s back in Academia working as a spy so that -- “

“No, no way, I’m not trusting this Yu...what’s he called?”

“Yuri.”

“Yuri at all!”

Yuya sighed as he began placing slices of beef onto the grill directly in the center. "Ray just _ had _to wake up, didn't she?"

“I mean, she is the reason that Yuzu was able to defeat Shingo with those new Melodious monsters but still!” Yuto grumbled.

Yoko took a glance at Yuya and Yuto and Yugo (who nearly dropped his glass). “Yuzu has new cards that came out of nowhere too, huh?”

“Yeah, three of Ray’s cards,” Yuya said with a sigh.

“What?!” Yugo exclaimed. “Yuzu had to be given _ three _? Which ones?”

“Mezzo-Soprano, Vivaldina and Haydina.” Yuto explained.

“The Xyz one?!” Yugo gasped. “Man, that _ is _serious; most of the Melodious monsters are Fusion after all.”

"I still need more answers," Shuzo said. 

"Ok first of all, no Father did not get pregnant. We just…actually, we don't know _ how _we were born,” Yuya explained. “Father never told us and we never asked." 

“Well I’m asking it so can he answer that now?” Yoko asked.

Yuya shook his head. “He said he won’t answer that.”

“Well why not?”

“He just _ doesn’t _.” 

“Aren’t you boys even a _ little _curious?” 

“We…” Yuya froze, eyes wide before golden eyes glared at Yoko, mouth set and with a dangerous echo in his soft voice. “** _Stop asking._ **” 

Shuzo and Yoko flinched back at the sound and Yuya blinked a few times, eyes returning to normal. 

“No asking, not about that, Father doesn’t want us to know, and we’ll obey his command.” Yuya stated, voice distant. Yuto and Yugo nodded their heads.

“Obey?!” Shuzo asked incredulously. “Yuya, Zarc is supposed to be your _ father _, not your master! You have a right to know!” 

“No.” Yuya repeated in a low growl

“Shuzo-san, Yoko-san,” Shun began, sensing Yuto’s inner rage. “I think it’d be a good idea not to anger them.”

“Yuya,” Yoko said in a stern voice. “Why can’t you ask Zarc to -- “

“** _NO!_ **” the three boys answered in low growls causing Shuzo to flinch and shield himself with his arms. 

“Alright then, we won’t ask, no need to get angry,” said Yoko trying to calm everyone down. 

But Shuzo was still startled. “Yoko, aren’t you the least concerned at how Zarc has this _ hold _ on your son?”

“I am, but I’m just learning to accept it. Trust me, you did _ not _ want to be there when I made the foolish decision on making them watch _ The Haunting Hour _.”

Shuzo winced. “Which episode was it? The Funhouse? Uncle Howee? Imaginary friends? Robotic brother?”

“The mummy episode.”

“The _ mummy _ episode? Why was that one the wrong choice?”

“Because they got very..._ emotional _ at the ending of Seth deciding to kill himself to be with his brother in the afterlife. Then they started to chant ‘Reunite...Reunite...Reunite…’ like a bunch of zombies,” Yoko sighed.

“That is just...disturbing,” said Shuzo, goosebumps rising on his hands. 

“It gets even worse,” Yoko admitted.

“So you're just going to _ accept _some demon possessing your son? What if he harmed them, or told them to do something dangerous?!”

“Father would never make us do that!” Yuya exclaimed, baring his fangs. “All he wants to do is protect us. If he doesn’t think we’re ready to know something, he won’t tell us, and we can’t change Father’s mind so it’s best just to stop asking.” 

Shuzo looked at Yuya in shock. Never had Yuya talked like that before, not even when playing the ‘bad guy’ for demonstrations at You Show.

Yoko sighed as she saw the grilled squash and pepper steak Shun plated for her. “Let me just start from the very beginning,” she muttered, picking at a piece of steak with her fork.

…

…

...

  
  


It didn’t take long for Yuzu to find where Serena was hiding. It’s not hard to hide in a small bathroom where there was only one stall out of the three that was completely locked.

“Serena,” said Yuzu, knocking on the door to the bathroom stall. “Serena, talk to me.”

“I don’t wanna talk to you right now,” Serena replied, sitting on the closed toilet seat, knees to her chest. “Just go away, Yuzu!”

“Serena, I’m not mad. I’m really not. I honestly want to know the truth so I can understand what’s going on,” Yuzu pleaded. “Why can’t you tell me? I thought… I thought we were sisters.”

Serena grit her teeth and tried to wipe the tears away with some toilet paper. “We...we _ are, _Yuzu. But this is too dangerous. If I told you what I knew...something bad could happen.”

“Something bad? Does it...does it involve Zarc?”

Serena paused. “You...you were never supposed to know about him.”

Yuzu’s eyes widened. “W...what do you mean I’m not supposed to know about him? Why do _ you _ know so much about him?”

But Serena was silent after that.

“Serena... “ Yuzu pleads, close to kicking the door open. “Serena, please tell me! Who is Zarc? Why do I feel so strongly for him? W...what’s going on?”

“I can’t Yuzu! Please, I can’t tell you anything, I just… I just want you safe.”

“How can I be safe if I don’t know what to be safe from?! When I put that pendant on, I saw memories, Serena. Not my memories, someone else’s. Ray’s. They were happy, Ray and Zarc, they were really happy together.”

Serena raised her head slowly, eyes staring at the door where Yuzu would be if they were face to face, surprised at what she heard. She never really _ asked _ who this Ray was; from what she was told, from the way Lord Zarc talked, she only saw Ray as her death, not as a genuine person...just like the Professor didn’t see _ her _, Yuri or any of the students as Academia as people... just tools needed for a plan for something big and can be discarded without any empathy lost on them. 

“I don’t… I don’t know much about Ray,” Serena said. “But what I do know is that the Professor wants her back and he needs all four of us to do so, because we all share her face.”

“That’s why he invaded the Xyz Dimension? Just so he can kidnap a girl?!” Yuzu gasped, imagining what Ruri must’ve been going through to see her home destroyed and then for her to be kidnapped.

“No, not just for that,” Serena said, feeling even more guilty just thinking about how she used to be on board with this plan, how she wanted to make The Professor proud at what she was going to accomplish. “Ruri was a priority too, but The Professor invaded Heartland because it was a convenient power source for his machine. Invading, dueling and then carding people. Each and every person that was defeated would become a power source for his Arc - V machine. He said it would create a unified utopia, but now I was told it was to bring back Ray, or maybe it’s meant for both. But he needed that energy and us to do it.” 

“He invaded a dimension just for a fuel source?!” Yuzu gasped, shaking her head. No, this sounded like one of Yoko’s horror stories. One in a future gone horribly wrong and humans were being slaughtered by the hundreds.

“And his daughter,” Serena stated coldly. “Ruri and our counterpart from Synchro, Rin, have been captured. If the Professor gets his hands on both of us, then he’ll have everything he needs to bring his daughter back.”

“But if he does that...all four of us will...we’ll be…”

Serena didn’t finish that sentence. She didn’t need to.

“How… how can anybody be this cruel and selfish?” Yuzu whispered, looking at her hands, at the bracelet that wasn’t really hers -- as she saw a memory of four silver bracelets on her right arm flash by -- and wishing she could have it destroyed right here and now. 

“I wish I knew,” Serena whispered sadly.

“So what...what about Zarc then? Is he like Ray? Split into four pieces?”

“I uh…I really can’t answer that…I’m not too sure about everything myself.” Serena admitted.

“But what about Yuya? Why does he have three...doppelgangers of himself?”

“That’s…” Serena bit her lip. “I can’t say anything about that either.”

“Why not?! This entire mess has them involved also, right? I mean, what was going to happen to Yuri after the two of us were captured and Ray returned?”

“The Professor would have no more use for Yuri. So I guess Yuri would either be carded or killed because he was impossible to be tamed. At best, Yuri would still mean the possibility of a threat to come; I don’t think the professor would allow that.”

“That’s… that’s awful… even someone...someone as scary as Yuri doesn’t deserve to be treated like that.” Yuzu whispered, feeling nothing but pity over the boy who was about to card her. “So...what about Ray? I don’t… I don’t want us to die, I don’t want the professor to have us, but I don’t want Ray dead either.”

“What?!” Serena exclaimed. “This is the same girl that is the reason all of this happened. The reason why The Professor has caused so much suffering! If it were up to me, she should stay dead and leave us all alone!”

Yuzu clenched her fist and placed it towards her heart, feeling like it was about to explode. “I feel her emotions, Serena. She didn’t ask for any of this! She’s also outraged at her father’s actions just like all of us. She’s horrified at the things that happened to the Xyz dimension! She’s...she’s scared. She feels so scared, Serena.” 

“...if she doesn’t like what her daddy is doing then _ why the fuck does she not do anything to stop him?! _” Serena said.

“How is she supposed to do anything? We’re her now! We’re the only thing holding her soul! She couldn’t do anything about what her father did. She couldn’t even talk to us before! How would she have stopped him from any of this, Serena?” 

_ “ _She could’ve given us something other than these stupid bracelets! Why does she even have those in the first place? What the hell were they supposed to do anyway?!”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think she knew what her dad was capable of. Who would even think their own father would commit genocide just to get them back?” Yuzu questioned. “I mean, all I knew was that my bracelet would start glowing and then Yuto would just...vanish…whenever he and Yuto were close proximity. I think the only thing she feared was Zarc, but why? What happened in the past? Why is Zarc so scary?”

_ “He’s a monster,” _ Yuzu heard a voice and froze. 

“What?” Yuzu whispered softly.

_ “That’s what I thought back then at least. He was a monster. I shouldn’t trust him, I shouldn’t believe him, he was capable of controlling me. Was any of it real? Our friendship, our love...was it real to him or just a cruel game?” _

Yuzu blinked. “Ray?” She could hear the sadness and devastation in her voice, and was on the verge of tears. 

_ “Turn around.” _

Yuzu swiftly turned to the bathroom mirror and gasped. Instead of seeing her own reflection, now she was staring at the face of a woman a few years older than her with wine-red hair in pigtails and streaked with black.

“You’re...Ray Akaba…” Yuzu whispered.

_ “That’s correct.” _ Ray whispered, bowing her head.

“Ray?” asked Serena, wincing in pain at how her tattoo started to burn. This was bad. “Yuzu, get away from her. She’s dangerous!”

Yuzu didn’t listen, she just kept looking at Ray. “Why would you think that about him? Did he hurt you? You two seemed so...happy.” 

_ “We were, then I found out the truth about him.” _

“What truth?”

“Yuzu!” Serena opened the stall and grabbed Yuzu’s hand to try and stop her. But Yuzu wouldn’t budge.

_ “I was a human Yuzu, but Zarc isn’t.” _

“What are you talking about?” Yuzu asked. 

_ “Zarc is...he’s something beyond human. He’s a dragon in human form, king of the Spirits. Or, to use his true title, he is known as the Supreme Dragon King of Darkness. Haoryuu. The bastard actually used that as his last name,” _ Ray said with a sad chuckle shaking her head. _ “Hidden in plain sight; I can’t believe I didn’t see that sooner.” _

_ “Oh shit oh shit oh shit!” _Joey muttered, glad that he, Mokuba and Seto were invisible the entire time. This was bad. This was bad!

“Supreme Dragon king of Darkness? That’s… that’s a thing?” Yuzu whispered.

Ray nodded. “_ That reaction you’re having right now, that was mine. I did my research, went through legends of duel history so I could find anything I could about him. The things I saw, things I read, they _ horrified _ me. The things he could do, the power he wields. It’s devastating.” _

“Yuzu! Whatever she’s saying, she’s lying. You have to believe me, please stop listening,” Serena pleaded. 

_ “What do we do, Seto?” _ Mokuba asked. Seto just said nothing; for once, not even he could figure out what he would do. There was no way for them to actually pull Yuzu out of this except by revealing themselves...but by revealing themselves, that would cause even _ more _ trouble for them.

_ “I’m telling you right now, there is nothing that can stop Zarc, not when he’s on a rampage,” _ Ray continued. _ “He’s stubborn and cunning; he holds grudges and punishes anyone who wronged someone dear to him. No one stands a chance against him, especially not in full power. Back then I did what I thought was right, ‘the nuclear option’: the four cards created by my Father from nature. I didn’t know the price I was paying. I didn’t know that any of this would happen. _

_ “I’m not the bad guy Yuzu, I am trying to help, but I just don’t know what to _ do _ anymore. If I do come back to life, then it means the death of the four of you and even then it’s not like I can face Zarc again, we both caused so much destruction, to the world, to each other.” _

Yuzu leaned her forehead against the mirror, trying to understand just what was going on. All this information spinning in her head, making her dizzier than that time she practiced that famous leap for the Action Card in her duel against Masumi, the tumbling, twirling around made her want to puke. 

“What about Yuya and his counterparts? Are they like us?” Yuzu asked, looking at Serena who had just given up on trying to get Yuzu out of the bathroom. Instead, she leaned against the counter, staring at her wrist and the mirror as if wanting to smash the mirror with her bare hands..

_ “No, they are… as far as I was told, Zarc’s little brothers. He was their sole caretaker, but he didn’t exactly make their existence known to the public and he’d rather homeschool them. He was rich enough, now that I think about it, powerful enough too, to take care of four kids looking that young.” _

“What exactly were they like?” asked Yuzu, recalling all of the fond memories she had growing up with Yuya.

“_ Yuya didn’t change that much. He was a happy child, Zarc’s ‘baby boy’, and it got to the point that I started calling him by that. All the boys were just so...sweet. Yuri was mischievous and loved to tend to the garden in their penthouse, Yugo was a big ball of energy who was always moving about and dreaming of being in the spotlight like Zarc, and Yuto was pouty and protective, the voice of reason whenever Yuri or Yugo started fighting with each other...which was often. They also were...well, very... _ possessive _ of one another. It wasn’t uncommon to see the boys hugging, cuddling, holding hands...even kissing each other.” _

“W...what?! And you just went along with that?” Yuzu exclaimed, blushing mad. 

_ “How could I have known back then? They looked 11 and most of the touches were innocent, and I thought since they only have each other that that was normal for kids their age. I didn’t have a say in the family. I wasn’t part of it, and Zarc didn’t care; he’d just pat the kids on the head and tell them not to do it when they have guests around or they would be uncomfortable. Lots of cuddling during movie nights too. Sometimes it would just be me and Zarc one night and sometimes the kids would wanna join. _

_ “And let me tell ya, that guy _ spoiled _ his boys; there was hardly a request he didn’t grant them.” _

“That kinda sounds like a recipe for disaster. And a one way ticket to four spoiled rotten kids.” Yuzu remarked, not wanting to face the idea of interacting with four copies of Shingo.

Serena raised her eyebrow at the one way conversation she was hearing. Meanwhile, Joey was just glaring at Seto who replied with a side-eyed glance of his own.

Ray gave a shrug. _ “The boys were well behaved despite all of his coddling. Not once did they do anything that screamed that they were spoiled.” _

Yuzu paused. “So...what do we do then?”

Ray blinked. _ “What do you mean?” _

“Well, you don’t wanna destroy Zarc again, you’re out of ‘nuclear options’ to begin with, and the new threat that even you want gone is your dad. Why don’t you just make a truce with Zarc, and help him out.”

_ “WHAT?!” _Serena, Seto, Mokuba and Joey yelled.

Ray looked at Yuzu with a look of disbelief and annoyance. “_Yuzu Hiragi, I don’t know if you’re just overly optimistic or live in a fantasy world. Zarc is going to _kill me _if he found out I was back. He’s the godsdamn king of the spirits, he doesn’t need me, he can probably snuff me out with a snap of his fingers.”_

_ “And probably blame it all on us because we didn’t do anything to stop her.” _Seto remarked.

“Well….” Yuzu began, trying to ignore Serena’s look of shock. “Zarc knows you’re alive; he can kill you anyway. But still, why not apologize before he does the deed? I mean, you do still love him, I feel it, don’t lie to me. Maybe it’d be a good idea if you say sorry and patch things up, or ask for a truce until your dad is dealt with?”

Ray scoffed. _ “Sure, I’ll do that right after _ he _ says he’s sorry for turning into a _ giant fucking dragon _ and started blasting breaths of fire around and destroying everything.” _

Yuzu blinked; she wasn’t Ray to become that cynical. “Well if you have any other option, I’m all ears. But I still think you two should talk, especially when you’re the one who didn’t give him a chance when you found out about what he is.”

_ “Well, when several of the legends talk about your fiance burning down villages, kidnapping and eating children, you can talk to me about rationally letting said fiance explain himself.” _

“Fiance?” 

Ray placed a hand on her forehead as Serena looked in shock. “..._ shit.” _

“She was Lord Zarc’s _ fiance _?” Serena asked Yuzu. “Oh wow, that’s amazing! But that brings me to another question. Yuzu…uh, what’s a fiance?”

(If Seto, Mokuba and Joey had physical forms, they would all be collapsing on the side.)

“It...uh, it means that Ray and Zarc were going to get married,” Yuzu explained. 

“That’s um… I really don’t know how to react to that.” Serena said. 

“Join the club,” Yuzu murmured. “So then, Ray, what do _ you _ think we should do?”

Ray covered her face with her hands and took a deep breath before releasing it. _ “I still say you’re so naive to this, but fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when he claws my throat out.” _

“Thank you,” said Yuzu. 

_ “And to the three spirits who have been hearing all of this, how long are you going to keep yourselves hidden?” _

“Wait, what?” Yuzu asked.

“Spirits?” Serena blinked.

Joey, Mokuba and Seto looked in alarm as Ray kept staring at them.

_ “Oh Ra, Zarc is gonna be so mad…” _Joey muttered.

_ “Noooooo, ya think?” _Mokuba replied.

Reluctantly, the three spirits showed themselves with Joey annoyed, Mokuba somewhat shy and Seto with an expression that clearly read,_ “I really hate this and I’m gonna kill someone right now.” _ It didn’t help that the three of them had their dragon wings on display.

“AHHHH!” Yuzu screamed, wrapping her arms around Serena. “Who the hell are you?!”

_ “Well if my memory of Dueling History is correct, the stoic looking man with blue eyes is Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corp. He was one of the people who revolutionized dueling, created and manufactured the holographic dueling disks, and the one who built Duel Academy. The little boy beside him is his little brother, Mokuba, and the one with blond hair is Joey Wheeler, a well-known duelist for his amazing luck and his friendship with the legendary King of Games, Yugi Muto, _” Ray answered.

“Wait, _ you’re _ the one who founded Academia?” Serena said, pointing to Seto.

“Hold on, dueling history?” asked Yuzu. “So...you know the answers to everything we asked last night?”

_ “Oh, yeah. I can _ easily _ answer those.” _Seto grumbled.

“How long have you guys been around?” Yuzu asked them. 

_ “Um well… we’ve been watching you since last night,” _Joey answered sheepishly. 

“So, if you’ve been spying on us...you overheard all of those stories I told Yuzu, didn’t you?” said Serena.

_ “We did,” _ Seto replied, gritting his teeth.

“You three are so creepy! What the hell? Spying on two teenagers!” Yuzu yelled. 

“We didn’t see nothin!” Joey yelled back eyes and face red. 

“So did all of that happen back in the original timeline?” Serena asked, interrupting Yuzu and Joey. “The Shadow Riders with the vampire, the thieves and that legendary undefeated pharaoh? Did a Dark Magician Girl once appear at a Spirit Day party? Is the legend of a helmed warrior with a silver trenchcoat true? Does he actually protect the place? What type of other adventures happened? Tell me, tell me, tell me!!!!”

Joey and Mokuba couldn’t help but snicker at how close Seto was to strangling Serena; thank goodness Seto was a spirit else this would turn ugly pretty fast.

“Seto,” Yuzu began, trying to calm Seto down before he lashed out.

_ “I prefer ‘Kaiba’,” _Seto interrupted.

“Kaiba,” Yuzu said, before she whipped out her _ harisen _ to swipe him across the head...only for that to fail since he was transparent. “Do you realize what’s happened to your school? Ray’s father has turned it into some sort of military camp! Was...was that why you built that school in the first place?”

Seto’s cold blue eyes glared down at Yuzu, making her flinch and take a step back. 

“Uh,” Yuzu whimpered slightly in fear and Serena took her hand. 

_ “I built my Duel Academy so kids can go and learn how to duel,” _ Seto answered. _ “What this Akaba did to it, transforming it into a military base for children to be formed into soldiers to card people for his crazed dream is like spitting on my grave.” _

_ “Seto’s a softie,” _ Joey teased and smirked when he heard Seto growl at the remark. _ “You see, Kaiba Corp. used to actually manufacture weapons of war and destruction but Seto took it from his adoptive father Gozaboro and transformed it into a company that makes children’s toys, even started a chain of amusement parks cause it was his and his little brother’s dream. Then he made his Duel Academy as another step to make kids happy and become professional duelists in the future. I promise that Seto is a lot of things, but he’s _ nothing _ like that Akaba guy.” _

_ “Seto and I aren’t happy at what Akaba’s done,” _ Mokuba piped up. ” _ And we wanna take him down. Of course, that’s kinda difficult when you’re like...this.” _

“How...did you become like that?_ ” _ asked Serena, in awe at how Seto, Mokuba and Joey had dragon wings. What type of dragon did those wings come from? 

_ “Well you can ask _ her _ about that,” _Seto said, pointing to the mirror, or rather at Ray.

“Ray?” Yuzu asked softly, Ray sighed. 

_ “I told you I didn’t know the consequences of what was going to do. My fiance was a Dragon King who, for all intents and purposes, looked like he was about to be the reason for the extinction of the human race. I used those cards, cards based on the Natural Energy Philosophy -- ‘En-Cards’ for short -- but Zarc was a force of nature bigger than them. He was Darkness, he _ ruled _ over the Darkness. In order to beat him and stop what he was doing, the forces of nature drew on the spirits of people, plunging them into the Darkness. I was split into four pieces and Zarc into the souls of his four boys. As for how they came to be dragons like that, I don’t actually know.” _

_ “The Supreme Kings,” _ Seto answered. _ “Some of us were protected by spirits, Dragon spirits. I was shielded by my Blue Eyes White Dragon, Joey’ had his Red Eyes Black Dragon and so forth. They kept our souls from being lost until we were found and transformed into Dragon Vassals.” _

_ “My dragon is based on Horus the Black Flame Dragon _ , _ ” _Mokuba piped up. 

Serena blinked. “I’m sorry, did you just say Supreme _ Kings _? As in more than one?” 

_ “Yeah there are two, Haoryuu and Haou, but if we started explaining more than this we’ll never leave this place so maybe we can tell the story later,” _Joey said.

“Did you know anything about the other Supreme king?” Yuzu asked Ray.

_ “Not much, footnotes at best, but I was focusing more on Zarc than anything.” _

_ “Joey is right,” _ said Mokuba. _ “You two better get back outside right now. But, uh, please don’t tell Zarc that we revealed ourselves...please?” _

“We promise,” said Yuzu. “Now, let’s get back and hopefully eat our dinner in peace.”

_ ... _

…

…

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!”

Yuzu and Serena blinked when they heard Yoko shout this at Shuzo. Shuzo didn’t look shocked at all; instead, he looked rather calm as the ex-biker pointed to Ray’s pendant.

“What happened?” Yuzu asked Shun as she and Serena took their seats.

“Let’s just say your dad now knows about what’s _ really _ going on,” Shun answered.

“You want to _ talk _ to this dark dragon king?!” Yoko exclaimed. “Haven’t you ever seen a horror movie? Asking the demon to talk via the host he’s possessing never ends up well. Sure he seems and acts polite, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s, you know, _ a demon _!”

“Are you ever going to stop calling my Father a demon?” Yuya asked

“No.”

“I want to know for sure from Zarc himself that my daughters will be safe,” Shuzo explained. “Because, unlike Yusho, he’ll at _ least _be there to keep an eye on them.”

Shuzo never talked smack about Yusho during the three years he had been gone; it was serious business if he mentioned Yusho in a negative light. He noticed the two girls coming out of the bathroom then.

“Oh Yuzu, Serena, you’re back! So, did you two make up?” Shuzo asked before noticing the tension, and the guilty look on Serena’s face and Yuzu’s scared look at the boys. Maybe she found out things somehow and now she’s scared of Yuya and his brothers, not that he really blamed her. 

“Sort of…” Yuzu explained, trying to see if there were _ other _ spirits around. They weren’t but she could never be too careful.

Yuzu’s arm was suddenly snatched, golden eyes staring with fury at the girl. Yuzu whipped her head around and gasped.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Shuzo asked and Zarc ignored him, still in Yuya’s body.

“Zarc,” Yuzu whispered softly.

“Ray,” Zarc growled at her. 

“L...long time no see,” she said, faking confidence, heart hammering in her...Yuzu’s chest.

Zarc sneered at the girl. “Oh, not long enough, but that’s fine, that’s quite _ fine _ , but now that you’re here I can _ finally _ kill you with my own hands.”

“Zarc, please stop!” Ray yelled and Zarc’s hand, filled with Darkness froze in the air, eyes narrowed at the girl. 

“Why should I?” Zarc hissed, and the same furious expressions were on Yuto and Yugo’s faces. “You killed me _ and _ my sons and your daddy has caused endless amounts of suffering to the dimensions. And what did _ you _ do to stop him, hmm?”

“Wait, _ sons _ ?!” Ray repeated. “No...doesn’t matter right now,” she mumbled before she sighed. “Look, Zarc, I understand that you have no reason to forgive me, and I know that I was in the wrong, but can you blame me? You’re the _ fucking Supreme Dragon King _ \-- everything I read about you, all of my research told me you were evil. The things you could do, the power you have, how was I supposed to know that you weren’t controlling me?! For all I knew I was your toy, just something to pass the time with until you got bored and decided to destroy the human race, and I wasn’t that far off, was I? And how the hell was I supposed to know that I’d split into four people with no memory of what or who they were supposed to be? How was I supposed to stop my father from the shit that he’s done?!” Ray breathed hard, hand over her (Yuzu’s) heart.. 

“I do regret my actions, and I’m sorry,” she continued. “I apologize for how I wronged you about your feelings for me. I was so afraid of you, but how can you condemn me without justifying your actions? I was afraid, but my fear was justified. The places you destroyed, the people you killed...was I supposed to just stand aside filled with fear, anger and guilt and let you destroy as you pleased?” 

Yoko looked at Zarc and Ray with shock and a bit of anger. Clearly Zarc wasn’t telling her the whole truth about his relationship with Ray.

“I’m sorry, Lord Zarc,” said Serena, bowing to the dragon king. “This is all my fault; I tried to prevent Yuzu from learning the truth...I have failed you.”

Zarc kept his grip on Yuzu’s arm, Ray still in control. “You didn’t fail me, Serena. I suppose this was inevitable,” he said softly. “You’ve done what you could to prevent this outcome, there is nothing to forgive.

“As for _ you _ , Ray. I did what I was supposed to before you came; to take back what was and is rightfully mine. I did not hurt innocents, and I defended myself and destroyed the weapons the so called military has. This dimension was _ mine _ , and it was taken from me. I was taking back what always belonged to me. I am the Supreme _ Dragon _ King after all. But even before that,” Zarc cupped her chin and whispered softly. “You broke my heart, you believed ancient texts written by bigoted humans instead of the time you spent with me. You believed lies over my own words. You didn’t even _ care _about me, did you?”

Ray slapped him, causing Serena, Shun, Shuzo and Yoko to look in horror. Yoko wished she had some amulet to protect her. If it was bad enough for Shun to attack Yuri, but Ray was probably about to have her soul destroyed for slapping the Supreme Dragon King across the face!

“I did love you!” Ray yelled before whispering softly. “Three years of knowing you and you were the most important person in my life, but what was I supposed to do? I was one human, what’s so special about me to make as you said the ‘_ All Powerful Supreme Dragon King’ _to care about me? Who was I, Ray Akaba, to say all these things, all these people to come before me were wrong? Do you understand how much it hurt to think your best friend, you goddamn future husband cared nothing about you and would kill you without a second thought?”

“...Is that really what you thought?” 

“It went through my head several times over. What was I supposed to do?! Tell me, tell me Zarc!” 

Zarc was silent. “...You could’ve let me explain myself,” he whispered. 

Ray bowed her head. "....I'm sorry."

"Is that all you have to say?” Zarc hissed, baring his fangs. “You just came to confront me, maybe deceive me, and you have no power to protect yourself with. You are a fool, Ray Akaba.”

"There is nothing to protect myself with, this is it. And Yuzu was right; you could kill me any time you wanted. So as this is probably my swan song, I need you to know that... I’m sorry... I never wanted any of this. I’m not gonna lie and say that I’m not scared of you anymore, I’m still terrified, but there is no point in delaying the inevitable, so as I’ve always done, I’m taking you head on. ”

Tears fell down Ray’s eye as she waited for the inevitable. For Zarc to slice her throat, to have him crush her throat, or perhaps she’ll have her heart ripped out of her chest. Shuzo gasped, Shun and Yoko were nervous, Serena covered her eyes and Yuto and Yugo clung onto each other.

“No...I won’t kill you.”

Ray’s eyes widened, looking at Zarc with untrusting eyes. 

“It was painful, having you betray me, betray _ us _like that,” Zarc continued, petting Yuto and Yugo’s heads. The two boys whimpered a little, wanting to comfort their Father in any way they could. “Had it been someone else who dueled me and used those four dreaded En-cards, it wouldn’t have hurt as much. I think what made me angry most of all...was that out of all the people who had to sacrifice themselves to stop me...it was the person I loved most, the first person outside my family that I let into my heart.” 

Zarc placed a hand -- Yuya’s hand -- over his heart. “As I laid dying, while I cursed you with my last breath...I heard my sons crying out in agony, crying out for me, unable to save me…me unable to save them...”

Ray closed her eyes shut fighting tears from falling down. Yoko looked in horror...it was that moment when one can’t help but feel _ sorry _ for the villain.

Zarc was a king of darkness who had an utter hatred of humanity, but he was also a Father who could do nothing to save his sons from dying, had to _ hear _ them cry out in pain, and was killed off by the person he loved. Did that excuse everything he did? No. But did it make Yoko want to wrap him in her arms? Absolutely.

“Tell me Ray...as you were dying,” Zarc said, putting his hand under Ray’s chin. ”What were your last thoughts?”

Pain and guilt filled Ray’s eyes. “My last thoughts…” she said, tears in her eyes. “Was us meeting for the first time, and wishing that our life was just _ that _ . No worries of a giant dragon king wanting to rule the world, no desires of sacrificing myself to stop the man I loved, just us happy and preparing a future for each other. Is that...is that selfish of me? Was it selfish that I didn’t want this to happen? That I chose to give up a future we could have for this? To have so many souls swallowed up into the darkness and my own father, my _ father _ not even respecting my sacrifice?”

“No, I know a thing or two about being selfish and you certainly weren’t. You did what you believed was right for them. You sacrificed yourself, that is not selfishness,” Zarc said caressing her cheek. _ But perhaps, selfish is what I need if I want you to be here once more, for you to stay by my side, what I _ will _ be in order to keep you mine this time. _

“If I was still remembered, I would be praised as a hero,” Ray replied. “A martyr, beloved daughter, willing to sacrifice herself for everyone else.” 

“That is correct.,” Zarc mused. “History is written by the victor, Ray. The humans won and so their history was written by them, not my own, or my people’s history and suffering and agony. The humans started this war, took what was mine from me, cast _ me _ as the bad guy and no one mourned me at all. Who mourns the wicked? The whole truth is never uttered or told, always embellished, decorated nice and pretty, turning a street girl into a beautiful princess and hopes that the clock never strikes twelve so she _ always _ is the girl in a pretty gown. No one ever wants to remember the _ ugly _ parts, do they?”

“No, I suppose not,” Ray whispered softly and Yoko and Shuzo agreed.

“When I become king, and I _ will _ become king once more, be assured of that, things will change,” Zarc vowed. “I will make sure to end Academia’s reign, and that your father gets his well deserved justice. Ray, my love, my treasured queen...I wish for you to stand by my side for as long as it takes to topple your father’s twisted plans.” _ I simply need your love and selfishness to win. Please Ray, just please agree to be mine once more. _

Ray looked at Zarc, her breath hitched at the request. Yoko narrowed her eyes; she wasn’t liking this truce at all. It just reeked of a trap, but it was either that or Zarc killing Ray/Yuzu right here and now. But it did seem like the dark lord promising the maiden, the sole maiden who could duel Zarc head on and was the reason why Professor Akaba was gone mad, power that would corrupt her and, in the end, put her under his control.

Bad enough that she’s seen the damage done to her sons. The dragon given to Serena and the whole ‘giving amulets of darkness to protect them’ for Ruri and Rin. She couldn’t trust Zarc, she had no idea what she could do against him, but there had to be a way to remove his control from them. Somehow, Yoko knew she just had to find it. What would Ray do now?

Ray looked at Zarc. She knew that Zarc was using that silver tongue of his to get her on _ his _ side. But what choice did she have? Her connections to three of her counterparts were permanently severed and she herself had no powers at all. She wouldn’t be able to convince her father to listen to reason, and the only thing that was capable of stopping Zarc from resurrecting was a simple bracelet that, in hindsight, was just sweeping dust under the rug. Zarc’s sons would eventually reunite; she was just delaying the inevitable.

Ray sighed. “Fine, you win. We both want my father’s plan to stop working. Make him stop carding innocent people…free those students from his twisted propaganda, want him to pay for his crimes, and the people he hurt to be restored and safe.”

Zarc ran his knuckles down Ray’s cheek and whispered softly. “Become mine once more and I will give you that and make sure _ no one _ could ever create such a tragedy ever again.”

“...” Ray looked into the familiar golden eyes, they looked so intensely at her, imploring her to accept his offer. Did he really want her back?

With a sigh and a tiny smile on Yuzu’s face, Ray whispered, “I will.”

Zarc smiled and a tear trickled down his eye as he kissed Ray on the cheek. _ ‘Welcome back, my queen.’ _

“Um, guys?” said Shun, speaking for the first time since Ray appeared. “I think we should start eating.”

_ “ _AHHH!” Yugo exclaimed, hastily getting food off the grill. “It’s nearly burnt!”

Yoko sighed as she watched Yuzu and Yuya blink and realize the positions they were in. Yuzu and Yuya both blushed and hastily began to eat. Serena began to bite into some grilled squash and Shuzo was just trying to understand what he had just witnessed.

“You know what?” Yoko suddenly declared. “After we finish eating, why not I take all of these kiddos back home for a slumber party! I mean, emotions have been running high for a while and we have only one more day after this.”

“A slumber party?” asked Yugo. “That’s awesome!”

“I’m choosing movies!” said Yuzu. “We’re not making Serena watch any of your horror stuff, Yoko-san.”

“Oh come on, sometimes it’s just fun to be scared,” Yoko winked.

Yuya and Yuzu rolled their eyes. They’ve had too many slumber parties when they ended up unable to sleep because of the entertainment Yoko put on television 

“Yeah _ sometimes _ you’re just obsessed, and not everyone has your taste. Serena has been sheltered in Academia all her life, a _ Goosebump _episode would scare her,” Yuzu said, crossing her arms.

“Who said I was going to make her watch _ Goosebumps _?” asked Yoko with a sinister chuckle. “No, we’re giving her something more...of a challenge.”

“And if I’m not letting you show her _ Goosebumps _, what makes you think I’m letting you choose something even worse?” 

“At least I’m not making her play some of my video game collections. Which one is better Yuzu? _ Fatal Frame 2 _ or _ Silent Hill 2 _?”

“Neither of them!”

“Uh...should we get involved?” Yugo asked Shuzo.

“No, I think we should just let them sort it out,” said Shuzo.

“Oh come on Yuzu, I can handle it,” Serena stated proudly. “If I can’t go through one movie then I’m really not fit to be a Lancer.”

“Then pack your bags because we’re heading off to _ Zombie Island _!” Yoko stated proudly.

“The Scooby-Doo movie?” asked Yuya. “The one with the....”

“No,” said Yuzu. “No and no and no again, Yoko-san! You’re going to give Serena nightmares!”

“Yuzu come on, I’m sure it’s not gonna be _ that _bad,” Serena said.

Yuzu looked at Serena and sighed before grabbing her hands. “Just remember that your monsters are not evil, okay?” 

“Um...okay?”

“Hey Yuya,” Yugo whispered.

“Yeah?” asked Yuya, biting into a roasted bell pepper. 

“...What’s Scooby Doo?”

“And is it actually scary?” Yuto asked.

“Nope,” Yuya said simply. “I mean, back when I was a kid it was scary but not anymore.”

And the rest of the dinner somehow dissolved into a discussion about a mystery-solving group of teenagers with their talking dog going around solving mysteries and the occasional supernatural entity every now and then. 

“It’s just harmless fun, with mostly small mocap atmosphere, episodes are a repeated formula, the original show had a lot of animation errors but it was fun to watch,” Yuya explained. “Although _ Mystery Incorporated _ turned that on its head and ended up becoming darker than _ Zombie Island _.” 

Yuzu stared at Yoko. “All right, let’s have a deal. You can have _ Zombie Island _ play first, but we’re watching _ Lilo and Stitch _immediately after. No arguments.”

“So we go from zombies to surfing paradise and _ ohana _?” Yoko asked.

Yuya chuckled. “Sounds just perfect.”

***************

After dinner, Yoko drove her boys, and Shun, back home and began preparing the living room for the slumber party, preparing the popcorn, the drinks and the pillows and blankets to snuggle in. TYugo asked if he could help, or if it was okay to eat so much after she paid for the _ yakinuku _and the drama with Ray.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Come on, just sit down and enjoy the movies,” said Yoko.

“But what about your training?” asked Yugo. “You have to practice your Synchro Summoning! Do you know what it’s like if you get thrown into The Facility?”

“I’ve survived worse,” Yoko replied. “Now, Shuzo is dropping Yuzu and Serena off after they pick up everything they need for the slumber party. This will be Serena’s first time coming here, so I want everything to be just right!”

“I hardly believe that you did,” Yugo mumbled but sat down near his brothers. Shun looked down and saw En pawing at his pant leg. The corgi whimpered a little, wanting Shun to play with him.

“They’re very friendly, just let one in your lap and pet it,” Yuya told Shun with a smile as he crouched down and petted Kilo’s head. The bulldog smiled and barked happily. “We’re all gonna miss you when we go. We better tell Shuzo-san to come visit every day, give you food, play with you and even give you tummy rubs!”

Just then the doorbell rang, and the three cats ran towards the door. “I’ll get it,” said Yuto, watching Core, Show and Time wait in anticipation for the guests.

Yuto opened the door to see Yuzu and Serena waiting for them. Strapped to Yuzu’s back was a backpack that contained some spare clothes, pajamas and everything else they needed for tonight. Serena looked down and found the three cats staring at her with wide eyes.

“Are those...cats?” asked Serena, staring at Core’s blue and yellow eyes.

“They’re the family pets,” said Yuya.

“Oh so cute so cute so _ cute _!” Serena squealed. 

The kittens all surround the children and start to purr and nuzzle them, especially Serena. The three kittens were all vying for her attention, meowing and standing up on hind legs for Serena to pick them up.

“They’re just the cutest,” Yugo squealed. “I named two of them, ya know!” 

“Daww, so cute!” Serena cooed more, all while Yuzu watched with awe. Serena was such a different person now. No longer was she a hardened soldier wanting glory through hurting others. Now, she was a normal girl experiencing a slumber party.

“Now, now everyone,” said Yoko, carrying Watt in her hands. “Let’s get ready for a trip to Zombie Island! And Serena, why don’t you have the cats sit on your lap?”

“Can I?” 

“Of course.”

“Yay~” Serena yelled, cuddling Core to her as she walked towards the couch. Yuzu stared at how Yoko was smiling to herself before she sighed and took Show into her arms. Yugo took Time into his arms and scratched behind her ear, which she appreciated.

Yoko pressed Play on the DVD Player and the movie began to play. She watched in glee as the audience saw the adventures of the Mystery Gang before it skipped into them in the future, all of them holding steady jobs yet somehow missing the thrill of solving mysteries and building traps.

Then, after a montage of them solving multiple fake monsters, the Mystery Gang headed off to Moonscar Island, which was supposedly named after a legendary pirate by the name of Morgan Moonscar...and that was when the _ real _ fun began.

“I don’t see how terrifying this can get,” Shun commented.

“It gets better,” said Yoko. “Be patient.”

So they watched the misadventures on the bayou, got introduced to Beau, the gardener, Shaggy and Scooby munched on spicy peppers, oh and there was a ghost that scratched ‘GET OUT’ on the kitchen wall.

“What?!” asked Serena. “Real life ghosts?”

“Oooh…” Yugo said, eyes wide. Yuto frowned though. Something was off.

Serena watched with wide-eyes over the history of Captain Moonscar and laughed at Shaggy and Scooby’s antics..until Shaggy and Scooby fell into a pit, and the ‘branch’ they used to climb up was a skeletal arm.

“What the -- ?” asked Serena, seeing a ghost possess it and moan and groan at the cowardly duo.

“It gets crazier from there,” said Yuzu. “Again, I promise you that your monsters aren’t evil.”

Serena still didn’t understand what that meant, but she was gladly following the story as Lena tried to seduce Fred and Shaggy and Scooby were met with _ another _ ghost that caused them to be kicked out of the manor and to have dinner in the Mystery Machine: a giant pot of gumbo, biscuits, boiled crawfish and hot hot peppers that they rushed out of the van to cool their mouths down with swamp water.

“Oh, this is where it all begins~” Yoko squealed.

“Is that a good sign?” Serena asked.

“No, it’s not…” Yuzu said, hugging Serena close.

So the movie then gave way to Fred about to do more recording of haunting activity in the manor when Shaggy and Scooby’s cries had him and Daphne rescue him...just as a pirate zombie arrived and Fred decided to ‘unmask’ the villain..

“Zombies aren’t real,” said Serena, watching as Fred tried tugging on the “head” of a zombie...and then watched as Fred yanked the head of the zombie clean off with a terrified yell. “WHAT?!”

“Oh...that’s the twist,” said Shun.

“AWESOME!” Yugo cheered even as Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby were screaming and tossing the zombie head to each other like a game of hot potato. “Real life zombies!”

Shaggy and Scooby split up from Daphne and Fred. Fred was still recording all of this as zombies rose from within the waters of the bayou. Then, a loud scream caused Daphne and Fred to forget recording -- which wouldn’t have mattered as Fred tripping on a root caused him to lose the camera and make it sink into quicksand -- and run for their lives.

Then, the nightmare began.

“OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SONG!” Yugo shouted as the song “It’s Terror Time” played out during the frantic scene of Daphne, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby running away from the zombies. It ended with Daphne and Fred back at them manor and Shaggy and Scooby in a cave with wax dolls…

“Wait, those dolls must’ve been used early on to make Velma float in the air!” said Serena. “But why are they there? And who made them?”

“Something about Lena is suspicious,” Shun noted.

And he wasn’t alone on that regard. Velma saw footprints when Lena implied that Simone was ‘dragged away’ by the zombies. And that was where the twist came in.

“They’re the bad guys?!” said Serena.

“Oh hell yeah they are,” Yoko answered.

“You won’t get away with this!” Daphne exclaimed.

“I’ve been getting away with this for _ two hundred years _!” Yoko said alongside Simone adding in a chuckle before Simone began to transform into some strange were-feline with yellow eyes, claws and hissing at her prey..

“WHAT?!” Serena yelled..

“Ohohoho! Cool!” Yugo yelled.

“Oh my god, it’s an evil cat person.” Serena said, faintly disturbed. 

And then Lena’s were-cat form appeared on screen, gloating how it was pointless to make wax voodoo dolls of Shaggy and Scooby with a loud hiss.

“There’s more of them?!” Serena shouted.

And then the scene cut to Shaggy and Scooby meeting up with the kindly old ferryman Jacques...who transformed into a large orange-furred werecat in front of their eyes with a feral grin on his face.

“WHAT?! HIM TOO?!” Serena yelled.

Yugo cheered, just having so much fun with the movie, even as Shaggy and Scooby were running for their lives.

Simone then began to explain how Morgan Moonscar caused her and Lena to become werecats. Once, the two settled on the island with various settlers who worshipped a Cat God and gave offerings for a good harvest. But then, Moonscar appeared, attacking the settlers and forcing them into the bayou to be fed to the alligators.

“That’s horrible…” Shun whispered, remembering what Academia did to his home. Yuto cuddled towards him.

It got worse, as Simone explained how she and Lena prayed to their god to enact revenge, how they were cursed to these cat forms and must offer up sacrifices every harvest moon, and how Simone and Lena would eventually obtain the manor and the hot pepper plants grown around the island.

“So everyone’s at fault here, the Pirates for what they did, and the Cat People for how they continued to react and keep the pirates’ souls in eternal torment,” Yuto commented.

“Those zombies were trying to warn them to stay away,” Serena added.

“Yeah, but the pirate zombies back when they were alive killed and hurt these people, so they’re really not that innocent at all,” Yuya pointed out. “Regardless of what they’re trying to do now.”

“Wait, why is Jacques a were-cat -- oh,” Yugo said, hearing Simone’s story of Jacques wanting in on the immortality Simone and Lena had. “So he’s just an evil bastard, got it.” 

Serena watched with bated breath as Lena and Simone transformed into even more savage cat monsters and how Shaggy and Scooby, in their scuffle to escape, accidentally kicked the voodoo dolls of Velma, Daphne, Fred and Beau towards a fallen lit torch.

“Wait a second..” she said. “Those guys are affected by whatever the dolls feel, right?”

“Yeah,” said Yuzu.

“So if the wax starts melting...wouldn’t _ they start melting too _?!”

Indeed, the poor immobilized victims were beginning to feel the heat and their skin looked like it would melt off. Thankfully Shaggy and Scooby kicking the dolls towards them solved that dilemma, but they still had to figure out how to survive the cat monsters. Fortunately, Shaggy’s pockets were stuffed with hot peppers, which Scooby used to blind Jacques, but just as Simone and Lena were about to drain the two lovable cowards of their life force, Daphne and Velma had wax figures of Lena and Simone to give them a taste of their own medicine.

“Oh that’s a relief,” Serena sighed.

“It’s not over yet,” Yoko chuckled.

“Why is she laughing?” asked Yugo.

“You’re gonna love this,” Yoko replied.

The cat creatures were ascending onto everyone. Beau had a torch as a means of defense, until Velma noticed the shadow of the sundial going past the cat’s face marking twelve. 

“Looks like your nine lives are up!” she proclaimed.

Smoke rose from the bodies of the villainous cat creatures before they howled in pain and they disintegrated into nothing but skin and bones before they exploded into scraps of fabric and ash. The zombies quickly followed suit, but they seemed happier to finally pass on.

“That was...disturbing,” Serena noted even with the happy ending of the Mystery Gang and Beau leaving the island on Jacques’ boat. They were that close from dying and no one would ever know the truth about what happened.

“THAT WAS AWESOME!” Yugo shouted. “Is there more?”

“Well there are other Scooby Doo movies, if that’s what you mean,” Yuya said.

“Who wants to watch _ Witch’s Ghost _~” Yoko sang.

“Does that have people turning into evil creatures or zombies?” asked Serena.

“We made a deal to watch _ Lilo and Stitch _after!” Yuzu exclaimed.

“Why is Kaa-san that giddy?” Yuto asked Yuya.

“I think she takes pleasure in seeing people get scared,” Yuya theorized.

“It’s fun to be scared!” Yoko exclaimed.

“It’s just Serena being scared,” Yuzu said. “And not always. Not when people _ don’t _want to get scared.”

“Let’s put Lilo and Stitch on, we can watch Witch’s Ghost after it. It is a fun movie.” Yuya said

“Well I’m gonna get the tissues then,” Yoko sighed, standing up. “I have to make a few phone calls anyhow.”

She quickly replaced the DVD for the one for _ Lilo and Stitch _ before heading off to the kitchen to pick up the tissues and tossing it over the couch so that it landed on the table with a soft thump. Then, with her cellphone in hand, she began to call a number.

“Hey,” she whispered. “I need a request, something for tomorrow morning. Oh? Yeah, yeah I know. The whole Lancers thing. Look, it’s not gonna be that bad; I’ll be chaperoning them. But, uh, I need something from you…

“Really? You were in need of something that involved little ol’ me? Well, I’m quite charmed. So tomorrow it is then? Great! Now, what else do you want to talk about?”

“....Oh it’s about that huh? Yeah, let’s just say I wasn’t going to let my sons get into battle alone.”

…

…

…

By the time Yoko returned, it was at the climatic scene of the movie. She could see Serena’s wet face, as a few tears have fallen by now over the more depressing scenes as she blew her nose into a tissue and dumped it onto the floor with four others. Yuzu was comforting Serena with a few pats on the shoulder, and Yuto, Shun and Yugo were solemn as the Grand Councilwoman was just moments from taking Stitch away from Lilo for good. But then it evolved to cheers once Stitch said what would’ve been his final goodbyes and Lilo showed her adoption paper from the dog pound, stating that the Grand Councilwoman would be stealing Stitch from her. Understanding the ‘legal law’ from it, the Grand Councilwoman agreed to them and sent Stitch in exile at Earth to stay with Lilo.

(Of course there’s no way simple dog pound adoption papers could stop intergalactic law, but still. That must’ve taken a lot of guts from a six-year-old girl to pull off a loophole like that, thanks to Cobra Bubbles for giving her the idea.)

The movie ended on a montage of what happened after Stitch Jumba and Pleakley were practically adopted to the family, and continued their lives with Nani and Lilo as a happy family. 

“Yay~” Serena cheered happily at the end of the movie. “They became such a happy family, I’m so glad for them.”

Then she paused. When she saw Cobra Bubbles trying to take Lilo away, she saw Barrett. How he was there to “make sure no sparks fell upon her head”, how he vowed to return to bring Serena back to Academia. Unlike Cobra Bubbles, who didn’t _ want _ to do this and was really on the side of good, Barret only thought that dragging her back to the Professor would be a good thing, completely oblivious to the fact that the Professor was evil.

“Serena…” Yuzu said, handing her sister some tissues. “Something wrong?”

Serena took the tissue and dried her face. “Yeah...yeah don’t worry about it. We’ll… we’ll talk about this later.”

“So...who’s up for _ Witch’s Ghost _?” Yoko said, trying to change the subject.

The vote was unanimous and Yoko smiled as she popped the DVD into the DVD Player. The story was simple: the Mystery Gang was invited to the home of famous horror writer Ben Ravencroft who had been in pursuit for a book belonging to his ancestor, Sara Ravencroft. However, there had been rumors of her ghost had been haunting the town (which was also gaining revenue from said rumors, much to Ben’s disgust)

“Well, considering how the last adventure played out…” Yuto remarked.

  
  


And so once night fell the group was split into three groups, and it was there that Shaggy and Scooby met up with some very...interesting characters.

“Whoa….” Yugo gasped, seeing a trio of women dressed like vampires approaching Shaggy and Scooby, bearing their fangs at the two. “Who are those?”

“Those are the Hex Girls,” Yoko answered.

“They’re _ awesome _!” Yugo exclaimed. “Are they going to be important to the plot?”

“You’ll see,” Yoko smirked.

“Why would Shaggy think that they’re witches? They have vampire teeth,” Serena asked.

“It’s part of the gimmick,” Yoko said. “Makes them more mysterious.”

So a few minutes later after Shaggy and Scooby were supposedly chased by the “ghost” of Sara Ravencroft, they, Fred, Daphne, Velma and Ben Ravencroft followed a path to a large glowing mass off into the distance...where the Hex Girls were performing.

“They sing too?” Yugo asked, excited and loving the music. “Oh god I love them even _ more _!”

“There’s more to them that meets the eye,” said Yoko as she sang along to the song, “I’m a Hex Girl”.

“This is the coolest!” Yugo said. “Do they appear in any other films?”

“One film, two different cartoons,” Yoko answered.

“I’m gonna start calling it now that the ‘ghost’ is just a publicity stunt to get tourists,” said Yuto. “Come on, tourism started rising right around the time the ghost came in? This is a hoax.”

“Oh don’t spoil it for everyone,” Yuya teased.

“Speaking of which,” said Yuzu, while Daphne questioned Fred why he always chose her as his partner whenever the Mystery Gang split up, “Why are your monsters Phantom Knights anyhow?”

“It’s from back when I was a dragon prince…” Yuto explained. “There was a horrible war long ago, and soldiers loyal to Father were sacrificed to protect us. Father did not let them die in vain; their souls were reanimated into the armor they wore and they promised to protect their king as spirits. And out of the four of us, I was the one attuned to the spiritual realm and they drew themselves towards me.”

“Were there a lot of wars?” Yoko asked.

“In our lifetime, just one, but it was continuous though.”

“Your lifetime?” Serena asked. Yuto, Yugo and Yuya were about her age. How old could they have been to go through a giant war?

“Yeah, we’re pretty young by Dragon standards. You saw how young Father looks, and he’s _ way _older than us,” Yugo added.

“How old...is he?” Yuzu asked, unsure of the answer.

“Maybe close to ten thousand years or something? If we don’t count the crystallization part.” Yuya answered.

“Ten _ thousand _?!” asked Yoko. “That’s like...wasn’t that around the time Atlantis was up and about?”

“Give or take a few years, yeah,” Yuya answered.

“And Zarc went off against that giant Leviathan that was the cause of Atlantis sinking into the ocean?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Yuto explained.

Soon it was time to capture the ghost which involved Velma, Shaggy and Scooby chasing it into the woods, were a large tree branch slammed into it and caused it to crash into the metal posts of a soccer goal net.

Everyone was quiet as the ghost was soon captured, and revealed as Mr. McKnight, the pharmacist. Or to Thorn…”Dad”.

“Ah, Sally’s a cute name!” Serena commented. 

It turned out that the entire town was making profit out of using Sarah Ravencroft, a Wiccan, and essentially spitting on her grave. But Yoko chuckled and that caught Shun’s attention. Clearly, there was something else going on.

“So Thorn is a Wiccan?” asked Yugo.

“1/16th on my mother’s side,” Yoko quoted. “Now come on, this is the good part. Remember what Scooby dug up earlier in the movie?”

“A shoe buckle,” Serena answered as if she was answering a test question.

“Not just any ordinary shoe buckle,” Yoko chuckled.

And so the audience watched as Velma deduced that the ‘shoe buckle’ was really the buckle from Sara Ravencroft’s book. She then had Scooby dig at the stump of the tree where she stood and quickly pull out the chest that contained her book…

A book that had a cover of a skull on it.

“Um, that’s not a symbol of someone who uses herbal medicines and stuff, right?” asked Serena.

“Uh oh…” Shun said, now realizing the implications.

“He lied,” Yuto realized. 

And the audience watched with rapt attention as Ben Ravencroft admitted to his schemes and began to chant the spells of his witch ancestor, Sara, causing winds to blow. He placed the mayor and pharmacist into the gallows, wrapped the Hex Girls in string and surrounded Velma, Fred and Daphne with a ring of fire.

“That’s not the end of it, is it?” asked Yuto. He knew that once people got a taste of power, they’d want to unleash more and more of it. 

Even Shaggy driving the Mystery Machine didn’t stop Ben -- who was still capable of casting spells without the book -- and after a minor chase scene, Ben had the book in his hands and began chanting again.

_ “Spell of darkness, heed my cry! Bring back one... _ who cannot die!” Ben chanted. “ _ Let the witch who perished here...live again and REAPPEAR!” _

“That’s...not good, is it?” asked Serena.

“No it’s not,” said Yuzu.

Things ended up backfiring when Sara Ravencroft revealed her true colors, mocking her descendant for what he thought he could achieve, and for believing he could banish her. Sara wasn’t satisfied with ruling the world. No, she wanted to destroy it all for revenge on how she had been imprisoned for centuries. And Ben tried to use the spell to seal Sara away...but she boasted that only a pure soul, that of a _ Wiccan _, could fulfill the requirements.

“Of course,” Yuto muttered.

A chase began for the book after that with Scooby and Shaggy running around trying to get it from Sara as a distraction while Velma began her plan..

“Wait, why is the spell to get her back to being banished in her own book? Shouldn’t there be a separate one that belonged to the Wiccans?” Yuto asked.

“Wiccans were probably burned at stake like witches,” Yoko surmised. “During those times, those who had arcane information that wasn’t the norm like what the church decreed were accused of witchcraft. Most likely the spells would’ve been passed down orally or at least kept within secret circles so they wouldn’t be destroyed.”

“Yeah, but why wasn’t it a different book? I mean It’s Sara Ravencroft’s book, why would it contain something that would destroy her?”

“Probably in case of emergencies,” said Yuzu. “I mean, think about it: the key to free her is the key to seal her away. So if someone accidentally got her released, they’d know how to bring her back. I think it there wasn’t an oral spell back then, but it was probably added in after she was sealed and the book was buried.” 

“Aside from the fact that it’s written in the middle of the book and not the beginning or the end... I’ll let it pass since it’s a kid’s movie,” Yuto sighed.

“Let me guess, humans tried to play as god and had grimoires and necronomicons that allowed them to summon dark spirits from beyond the grave or something?” Yoko questioned. 

“Fiction is always driven from fact,” Yuto shrugged as an answer. “And it wasn’t just humans. Seeking power isn’t exactly bad, it’s thinking you know what you’re doing when your knowledge is so insignificant. One small mistake can lead to disasters, and some people have let power go to their heads. There was this one time a human teamed up with someone known as Zeman, the Ape King who wanted to rule over the Spirit World through the use of something called the ‘Minus Curse’... ” 

“Yuto, maybe tell them the story later,” Yugo said. “I wanna see how the movie ends!”

Daphne, Fred and Velma were being chased by giant living pumpkins while Shaggy and Scooby had to contend with a humongous turkey. Velma needed Thorn to read from Sara’s Spellbook -- afterall, she was still Wiccan even if it was 1/16th of one -- and Shaggy and Scooby successfully scared the giant turkey...except Sara had Scooby by the tail and was going to hurt him. Shaggy went ahead and tried to attack the witch by throwing a bucket of water on her...and then commenting that it worked in _ The Wizard of Oz _ while the witch had the most unimpressed deadpan face ever. 

“What’s the Wizard of Oz?” Serena asked.

“Uh, that’s a long story,” Yuzu said.

Sara was getting more and more aggravated as each member of Mystery Inc. tossed the book towards each other, ending at Velma and Thorn. In Thorn’s hands, the book had power to stop Sara...and stop her Thorn did.

_ “Ancient evil get thee hence. Only good can recompense for the misdeeds that you have done. Witch return from whence you've come!” _Thorn chanted.

Sara howled in agony when she touched the book just as Thorn finished the spell. She was thrown back and the book leapt out of Thorn’s hands to chase after the witch. And once the book had Sara in its grasp, it was off to seal her again…

But she wasn’t going alone.

Ben Ravencroft could only scream in terror as he was dragged into the book alongside his ancestor and once he was sucked back in, and the book was sealed...a fallen branch lit with fire fell upon it, sealing them forever.

“Served him right,” Shun muttered. 

The movie ended on a positive note. The Hex Girls were performing in concert alongside the Mystery Gang and Oakhaven had a new attraction with the giant turkey that, for some odd reason, didn't shrink back to normal even after Sara was sent back to her prison. Yugo was swaying with the chorus of the song “Earth, Wind, Fire and Air” as the Hex Girls sang and the credits rolled. 

“Well,” said Yoko. “I think that’s enough movies for tonight.”

There were a lot of disappointed sighs, but they did clean the place up and each headed to bed, Serena and Yuzu taking the guest room and Shun, a bit reluctantly, sleeping in the boys’ room with Yuya, Yugo and Yuto. That was not lost on anyone. 

“My prince…” Shun muttered, as he was led upstairs. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m not letting you sleep alone,” Yuto said. “You need to learn to relax, love.”

“But your brothers…”

“Will help in making you nice and warm and comfy, my beautiful falcon…”

“I’m never going to get used to that…” Serena muttered.

“It is very weird honestly. How does that relationship work in the first place?” asked Yuzu.

“You girls...aren’t ready to learn that,” said Yoko, wanting to spare the details of how Yuto got Shun under his control. “Now come on, off to bed everyone. I’ll be making pancakes for everyone in the morning.”

“Yay! Pancakes!” Yugo cheered.

“Good night, kitties,” Serena cooed, giving the kitties good-night pats on the heads as they each purred happily at the attention.

As Serena and Yuzu headed toward the guest room, Yoko just groaned and collapsed on the couch. This was an exhausting day, and she’s not sure if she could handle this in the future.

Well, that would be for later. She had to get ready for her important duel, her trial to see if she mastered Synchro Summoning.

Yoko hopped off of the couch and went to her bedroom, tossing her clothes to the floor and entering the shower to wash herself of the smell of barbecue smoke on her skin before emerging ten minutes later in a bathrobe. She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, washing her face with that mild cleanser she had been using for a while and smirked at her reflection.

_ Just you wait, Noboru Gongenzaka. _ Yoko chuckled. _ You won’t be the only one who learned how to harness the power of Synchro. _

****************

The four boys entered Yuya’s bedroom, and Yuto closed the door behind them. Shun stood there, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other, not sure what to do or where to lie down, especially with three Dragon princes in the room. 

“This is the bed,” said Yuya, pointing to the mess of pillows, blankets and stuffed animals on the floor. “Our ‘nest’. Come on, get into your pajamas and…”

“I don’t...have pajamas…” said Shun, remembering that he had been sleeping in his old outfit ever since Reiji gave him that room in the LDS Tower...which was still trashed from the night before.

“That’s okay…” Yuto said with a smile. “...You won’t need them.”

Shun knew what that meant, and he couldn’t do anything as Yuto peeled off the coat, shirt and pants (which would need to be washed and dried because they still smelled of smoke from the restaurant) before Shun was in a pair of navy boxers and his collar.

Shun’s face became even more red with the three pairs of eyes looking at his half naked state. Yugo especially.

“Is that Father’s -- “ He said before Yuya and Yuto nodded their heads. “He gave you permission?!”

“Yep,” Yuto said with a nod. The black and purple haired boy cupped Shun’s face with both his hands, and pulled him closer for a kiss. Shun shivered, feeling embarrassed that Yuya and Yugo were observing this. This should be private.

“We won’t tell anyone,” said Yuya. “In fact...we wanna join in.”

Wait...what?!

Shun had no time to think of anything else as Yuya guided him towards the bed and pounced on him, purring in delight. 

“W-wait hold on!” Shun said, his face completely red. Things were happening and he couldn’t keep up with this. 

“Aww, but I wanna get to know you better~” Yuya teased, pressing his nose against Shun’s. 

Shun whimpered slightly, before freezing as Yuto laid beside them and started running his hand through Shun’s hair. 

“It’s alright,” he whispered before placing a kiss on Yuya’s cheek, “It’s just my brothers, Shun.”

“Bu-but…” Shun gasped as Yuya started kissing down his neck and licking it teasingly.

“Come on,” said Yuya, turning to Yugo. “Don’t you want to play with him?”

Yugo, who was currently getting into his pajamas, also gave a smirk. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

Shun gulped as Yugo laid down next to Shun and unfurled his wings. Shun’s eyes widened; they were beautiful. The wings shimmered with so much colors, that Shun couldn’t remove his eyes from them, they took his breath away, like Yuto’s stormy eyes

“Do you like them?” Yugo purred. “Come on, don’t be shy...it’ll hurt my feelings if you stay silent.”

“They...they’re…” Shun began, but his thoughts were lost as his mind was washed over with the shimmering colors. “They…are...”

Yuya giggled as he waved his hand in front of Shun’s eyes to no reaction. “I think you placed him under a pretty trance, Yugo. He’s just so out of it.”

Yuto, now in a pair of black pajamas, smirked as he knelt down and ran a finger down Shun’s stomach. Shun didn’t react to it, his gold eyes still looking at the light of Yugo’s wings. “Mmm...we can have a lot of fun with him in this state.” 

Yuya ran his finger down the bite mark on Shun’s neck. “What do you have in mind, Yuto?”

Yuto hummed as he cupped Shun’s face. “We need to make him relax, not make him so embarrassed to be pleasured and teased like this. He is ours, a precious precious treasure. He needs to know that there is no shame in being wanted by us.” Yuto caressed Shun’s face lovingly, his body was completely relaxed, eyes faded. “I don’t want him to act embarrassed at all by your touches, I want him to take our affection as normal, as if any of us would kiss him any given minute and he’ll only welcome it. His heart has closed off thanks to Academia, but now we are to open it once more.”

“So he wasn’t always so stoic and rigid?” Yuya asked.

“Only when it came to his sister,” Yuto chuckled. “Ruri would drag him off to sing and dance with her, or perhaps set him up on a date with Sayaka and he’d get so red in the face and stammer and it was so cute!”

Yugo smirked as he watched a thin line of drool fall from Shun’s mouth. “Oh it’s okay. We’ll give you some commands, little bird. Now then, you’re not going to resist any affection from us in public. You’ll embrace it, welcome it.”

Shun shivered. “Welcome.... It…”

“That’s right,” Yuya said. “You’re quite happy to be given such love and care. It is a blessing, don’t be ashamed of it.”

“You are a treasure after all, Shun. So we’ll be treating you like one,” Yuto whispered and trailed soft kisses down Shun’s cheek. “You are my treasure, but you will accept affection from my brothers. From Yuya. From Yugo. From Yuri. If they ask you something, you shall give it to them, but at night you sleep in my bed.

“Accept affection... give to them... sleep in your bed…” Shun mumbled, his sleepy mind accepting the commands.

Yuto smirked.”Good boy,” he purred and the collar glowed making Shun gasp and arch his back.

Yugo giggled, “Oh he’s so _pretty_, Yuto. That blue hair, those gold eyes, that stern face. And those scars….” He shivered. “Those are the signs of a true fighter.”

“Can we bite him, Yuto? Can we? Can we?” Yuya begged.

Yuto smirked, eyes half laid as he looked at Shun, and licked his fangs. “We might break him. I need him in one piece tomorrow for our date at our castle.”

“You’re taking him there?” asked Yugo.

“Yes,” Yuto said. “It’s been far too long, and if Shun is going to be a proper treasure then he has to understand a bit more of our history.” Yuto smiled before giving his brothers a kiss. “The three of us, maybe four of us, will get to bite him later, I promise,” Yuto purred

“Then what do we do now?” asked Yugo. “I mean, we can’t have him just mindlessly stare at my wings all night. That’d be _ dull _.”

“Hmmm…” Yuya snapped his fingers. “I know! Why don’t we have Shun pleasure us one at a time? And every time he does a good job, he gets a reward.”

Yuto chuckled, “That’s lovely Yuya, I have a request though~” he said before whispering in Yuya’s ear, making Yuya giggle and nod, Yuto’s grin becoming sharper. 

“Put these pretty wings away Yugo dear, can’t have Shun be distracted for his next few tasks,” the Xyz prince purred.

Yugo pouted but the wings retracted and the light disappeared alongside it. Not that Shun noticed it though.

“Remember that thing I mentioned about Yuu Sakuragi?” Yuto asked.

Yugo blinked before it came back to him. “Oh...Oh I see!”

Yuya’s eyes glowed crimson and green, as Shun’s outfit changed from his boxers to dark blue silk; a silk vest and silk pants with gold trim with diamond patterns. His arms were decorated with golden bangles, he had two gold diamond earrings dangling from his ears. He even had a touch of lipstick and blush on his lips. Around his waist was a belt made of small gold coins and marking his arms and the back of his hands were tattoos drawn with henna. He looked absolutely _ wonderful _.

Yuto cupped Shun’s face, and tilted his head to look into Yuto’s eyes. “Now Shun, my pretty treasure, why don’t you please us tonight? Kiss us, touch us, and we will reward you, my love, then you shall dance for us, make a show of seducing us, with your eyes, your smile, your body. Dance for us, my beautiful bird.”

Shun smiled a little. He would obey his prince’s orders. Please them, love them and dance for them until he was commanded to rest.

“Oh this is gonna be so much fun!” Yugo squealed. “Now, who is Shun gonna please first?”

“I want him!” said Yuya. “I want Shun to smile and praise me. Worship me. He cared for _ Yusho’s _ teachings but I want him to know what he thinks of me. Come on Shun...can you do that for me? Please~”

“Oh and you have to call us princes,” Yuto added. “It’s only fair.”

Shun nodded,sat up and looked at Yuya in the eye. “Prince Yuya...I can tell from one look in your eye that you want others to smile. You give it your all to make others happy. I saw your compassion, your kind heart, your fiery spirit. I wish that you use those flames to warm me tonight.”

Yuya purred. “Now then, don’t you want to please me, our sweet harem boy?”

Shun paused. Harem boy? That doesn’t make any sense.The moniker made him shiver slightly...made him feel like some sort of servant or furniture.

Yuto ran his claws through Shun’s hair, sensing his treasure’s fear. “We’re playing a little game, love. You are a servant in the palace, serving us princes. You are dressed in fine silks and are to dance for us when we command you to. You obey without question for this is the way of life you know. There’s no need for thought or doubt or fear; just dance and obey. Dance and obey.”

“Dance and obey,” Shun repeated, voice empty. “Dance and obey...” 

Yuto purred, “Good...” and caressed Shun’s face. In his entranced state, Shun smiled, and he had his hands on his knees, waiting to serve his masters. 

“Command him once more Yuya, tell him what you wish him to do, and our lovely Harem boy will obey of course,” Yuto purred in Shun’s ear once more. 

Yuya smiled, imagining himself like a rajah covered in multiple gems, to be revered at. He smirked, doing his best Yuri impression, eyes half laid, body relaxed, sharp ruby eyes focusing on Shun as if he were a mere prey, his body language speaking an air of self importance. By all means, he did look like Yuri. Even Yugo was surprised to see how Yuya could act like this.

“You want me to warm you, correct harem boy?” Yuya asked with a cold sneer on his face.

Shun swallowed and nodded his head, staring into Yuya’s glowing eyes. He felt more comfortable as he answered, “Yes, Prince Yuya. Your flames are so soft, and warm and gentle. They are said to last a long, long time. The flames are a blessing during the night and the cold winds. I...remembered a time...my old home..before you chose me, saved me. I had little to wear, little to eat. I was afraid I’d die alone, without anyone to notice I was there. And then, your father found me...and I am honored to serve you.”

Yuya hummed, baring his fangs. “Yes, you were such a fine specimen. I personally loved making you stare at the flames, your eyes watching them sway back and forth like cat tails when the cat is staring at a fresh fish. I loved whispering words into your ear, words of love, control, obedience, pleasure. You looked so _ beautiful _ illuminated by the multitude of candles.

_ Yuya’s really getting into it. _Yugo commented, looking at Yuto.

Yuto giggled, _ I think he’s making Shun really think he’s a harem boy from all those stories Papa told us about. _

“Come closer,” Yuya commanded Shun, beckoning for the harem boy to come forwards with his finger. Shun crawled closer, and Yuya cupped Shun’s chin with his hand, and brought him closer for a kiss. Shun shivered, feeling Yuya’s warm lips heat his body up, wanting to moan and pant and beg for more of this pleasure. 

“Good,” Yuya purred, running the back of his hand down Shun’s cheek. “Now, why not use that sweet mouth that sings words of praise to make your mark on my body?”

Shun swallowed. “Is that...allowed, my prince?”

Yuya narrowed his eyes. “Are you _ questioning _ me, harem boy?”

“N-no, simply asking, I am a harem boy after all, to touch a prince such as you, to mark you, is… an honor, I do not believe worthy of.” Shun hastily said, bowing his head in shame.

“If I command you to do something, you do it without hesitation or questioning,” Yuya stated firmly, forcing Shun to look at him by grasping Shun’s chin. “Is that clear?”

“Ye-yes, my prince,” he whispered, not taking his eyes from Yuya’s. He felt it in his mind, that it must be blank and empty and think nothing but obeying his princes.

“Good, go on then, pleasure your prince,” Yuya commanded again as he removed his pajama top. Shun nodded, bowing his head before he started kissing Yuya’s neck and chest, running his tongue over the soft skin. 

“Mm...you’re doing so good, harem boy,” Yuya sighed.

Shun shivered at the faint praise, his face a little red, feeling the eyes of the two princes on him. He began to touch Yuya with his hand, running it up Yuya’s leg and back, wanting to do his best to pleasure Yuya with all he could.

But was he allowed to go past kisse and gentle strokes?

“Hmm?” Yuya asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you continuing?”

Shun swallowed. “I...wish to...see my prince naked.”

_ WHAAAAAT?! _Yugo thought all while Yuto was grinning. 

“What do you think, Yuya? Would you want to?” Yuto asked, taking the shell of Yuya’s ear in his mouth and sucking on it. 

Yuya sighed and ran his hand across Yuto’s cheek. “I would; I wanna see how well he’s trained. How far you broke your little treasure.”

Yuto chuckled. “I broke him well, had him bound to his bed by shadows, teased him and filled his mind with thoughts of obedience. If there’s any resistance it’s due to his shyness; simply repeat the command,” Yuto answered, placing a kiss on Yuya’s neck.

“Very well, harem boy,” said Yuya. “I will let you see me in my full glory.”

Shun swallowed as Yuya removed his pants and briefs, crimson wings unfurling, red dragon fins appearing on the sides of his face and a long red tail curled over his legs. Yuya licked his lips, eyes half laid, shining a deep crimson like fire.

“Do you like what you see, harem boy?” Yuya cooed, running a hand over his body. “Do you~”

Shun nodded his head. “I do, Prince Yuya.”

“What are you waiting for?” Yuya purred, taking Shun’s hand and placing it on his leg. “Do whatever you want with me…”

Shun nodded his head, rubbing circles on Yuya’s thigh with his thumbs, and started kissing down Yuya’s chest and stomach. It tasted sweet, sweeter than honey.

Shun kept going, kissing and touching every inch of Yuya he could, hands running over Yuya’s shoulders, down his arms until he was holding Yuya’s hands in a firm grip. Shun’s tongue swirled around Yuya’s navel, causing the red and green haired boy to squeal. 

Yugo giggled and clapped like a child seeing an entertaining show. Looking at Yuya’s pretty red face, and happy smile and feeling how good Yuya was right now. Yuto shivered in delight, feeling everything Yuya was going through and couldn’t wait for his turn.

“Good harem boy,” Yuya cooed, petting Shun’s face. Yuya smirked sharply. “Oh Yuri would love playing with you.” 

(And in the Fusion Dimension, Yuri shuddered slightly)

A while later Yuya finished with a happy sigh, and sat back on the pillows, petting Shun. “Good, good...now, which of my brothers would you want to pleasure next?” 

“Doesn’t he deserve a reward first, Yuya?” Yuto asked, caressing Shun’s face. Shun whined at the touch. Yuto’s hand felt different to Yuya’s. Yuya was slightly rough, but Yuto was firmer.

“He does,” Yuya chuckled. “What would our harem boy want as a reward?”

“Please…” Shun begged. “While I play with Prince Yuto...ravish me, Prince Yuya and Prince Yugo.”

“Ohohoho….” Yugo said with a grin. “This will be fun.”

Shun blushed as Yuto gave him soft kisses to his cheek and trailed his fingers down the mark on the back of his neck (which given how lost in his trance he was, he completely forgot about it). Yuto grinned as he pressed on it and watched as Shun gasped at the bolts of electricity coursing through his veins.

_ Don’t think about that, love. _ Yuto purred. _ Just submit to us, heed your princes. There is no resistance, just love and obedience. You love us and thus you obey us. _

Shun smiled as he felt Yuya and Yugo licking his shoulders, chest, kissing his hand. Yuto crushed his lips onto Shun’s and curled his tongue around the boy in dark blue silk’s own. Shun moaned, cheeks flushed, eyes half mast and he shivered as he felt someone strip him of his clothes.

“Yugo…” Yuto growled, seeing Yugo pulling down Shun’s pants. 

“Hey, this is punishment for making me hear all those fantasies and having to learn how you ravished your little treasure in public,” Yugo replied with a cheeky grin as he saw Shun’s erection. “Wow, he’s so hard.”

Shun wasn’t paying attention to this at all, just lost in a fog, mind empty of thoughts, happy to be such an obedient harem boy for his dragon princes.

“Yugo,” Yuto snarled. “Stop this now or I’ll --” 

“You’ll what?” Yugo asked as he unfurled his crystal wings. “Come on Yuto, say what’s on your mind…”

Yuto tried to say something, but it felt like his mind froze when he looked into the shimmering lights of Yugo’s wings. He just couldn’t stop looking at them, eyes locked into how they could change color so easily, causing his body to sway back and forth as Yugo’s soft voice echoed in his mind until he too was under a trance.

“How fun!” Yuya giggled, clapping his hands. “Should we make our brother like Shun?”

“That’s a great idea,” Yugo smirked, caressing Yuto’s face, running his tongue gently over Yuto’s cheek. “Wouldn’t that be nice? You pleasure your treasure so much...perhaps you would like a taste of what it feels like?”

Yuto just smiled, still looking at the pretty lights, eradicating all thoughts that formed in his mind. It was easier to see the lights and listen to Yugo talking to him. He could feel a soft warm glow washing over him and he wanted to float in it, forget everything else, just feel his brothers treat him nice and sweet and give him kisses and hugs and everything he asked for.

Yuto nodded with a dreamy smile, eyes faded, the glow of Yugo’s wings reflected in his empty gaze. “Yes….” he whispered.

Yuya giggled as he placed a kiss on Yuto’s forehead. “Don’t blink,” he whispered as he casted his spell over Yuto’s body, replacing black pajamas for a dark violet outfit similar to that of Shun’s, the only difference was that Yuto had a dark veil covering his mouth and a matching long veil over his hair, making Yuto’s violet locks frame his face.

.

Yugo giggled. “He looks so pretty,” Yugo’s hands trailed over and caressed Yuto’s hips and exposed stomach. “You did a wonderful job, Yuya.”

“That’s not all I did,” Yuya said with a sly smile. He turned to Yuto and placed soft kisses in Yuto’s hair. “Made it so that Yuto thinks he’s also like Shun. Only he sometimes has panic attacks that the life he lives is wrong...like he’s not supposed to be like this. Shun thinks he should go see Prince Yugo to calm him down so Prince Yugo hypnotizes our sweet spectral harem boy into believing that everything is okay. And Yuto is happy once again, doesn’t think anything is wrong.”

Yugo paused, not sure what to think of Yuya’s twisted imagination. Yugo took Yuto into his lap, running his hand over Yuto’s neck, only one bite mark over his shoulder, already fading. 

“Okay Yuto, Shun,” said Yuya, smirking as he made sure Shun’s pants were back on. “When I snap my fingers, you’ll wake up, and you’ll think you’re both our lovely harem boys. Shun is the ever devoted harem boy utterly loyal to us, obedient and never thinks that we are bad or evil in any way, while Yuto you’re going to play the suspicious one who thinks that something is utterly wrong. We want a good show from the both of you, okay?”

Both boys nodded all while Yuya’s grin grew wider.

“Okay then, on the count of three...3!”

Yuya snapped his fingers as he got himself back into his shorts and waited for Yuto and Shun to begin playing their parts. Yugo was a little unsure but he would trust Yuya; Yuya was always the one with a love of performing after all. 

Both Yuto and Shun blinked, Yuto looked at himself in Yugo’s lap, not sure how he got there. He looked in a panic, shivering in fear.

“What’s wrong, Yuto?” asked Yuya, purring at how vulnerable Yuto looked. 

“Forgive our interruption my princes, Yuto had another episode,” Shun tried to explain, his mind seeing a throne room, him on the floor, head bowed in shame. “He thinks that something is...wrong with him, that he’s not supposed to be here….not that anything could _ ever _be wrong because you have been such wonderful masters, but…”

Yuto looked away blushing, trying to cover himself with his shaky hands. “P..please, no...something isn’t...right…I’m not...I can’t be...”

“Can’t be what?” asked Yugo, trying to imagine himself as Father. Calm, husky voice, soft, yet something sinister underneath it to lull you into a trap. 

“Something’s not right… about this, I don’t… I don’t remember…” Yuto babbled. “I’m not...a...a slave...I...I’m…”

“Shh...of course you’re not a slave,” Yugo said, stroking Yuto’s hair. “You’re a dancer. You dance for us. You poor thing,” Yugo cooed, “It’s alright,” he kissed the bite mark on Yuto’s shoulder making him gasp and jump a bit in Yugo’s lap. “Your past was so horrible that we have done our best, weaved magic spells to make sure you never remembered it. There’s no point living in the past, live for today, just dance and...obey.”

(Yuya was grinning from ear to ear. Yugo was acting a lot like Yuri or even Father right about now! Yuya wondered what Yuri and Father would think if they saw them like this)

Yuto was still shivering, unsure. Yuya came from behind Yuto, wrapping his arms around his waist. “The only thing you need to remember, my pretty, is that you’re ours, always and forever,” Yuya licked the back of Yuto’s neck, pressing that very _ particular _ spot that Yuto pressed just days ago. He wasn’t going to let Yuto go off easy for _ that _ incident.

Yuto stopped shivering, became immobile, eyes looking up at the ceiling without thought or memory. The only way one could tell he was even alive was the soft movements of his stomach going up and down and his eyes blinking every now and then. Other than that, he was completely still.

“I’m sorry,” Shun apologized. 

“Oh do not apologize,” Yuya purred. “You did the right thing coming to us as usual. You deserve a reward. Come and stare into Yugo’s wings, watch them glow and put your mind at ease. We will make sure Yuto’s mind is straightened out.” He added that part with a low chuckle. 

“Thank you, my princes,” Shun said, eyes trailing back to Yugo’s wings, beautiful and shimmering. 

“Let your mind be drowned by light,” Yugo whispered, doing his best to imitate Father’s voice. “Breath in, and out, let yourself go to the light, to be bathed by its radiance. Enter that special place in your mind where there is nothing but the light and my voice guiding you there…You can trust me to guide you there, I only want you to be calm and happy.”

“Calm and happy…” Shun said with a dumb smile on his face, eyes fluttering at how the lights pulsed bright then dimmed in a repeating motion. “Calm...happy…”

“Yes,” Yugo continued. “Soon you will reach that place where only light and voice guide you. And you will follow my orders because I know what is best for you.”

Shun nodded again as his eyes slowly began to close, doing his best to stare at the lights until he surrendered, head bowed toward his chest, like a puppet awaiting for someone to pull his strings.

Yugo chuckled and placed a kiss on Shun’s lips. Shun had no response. Now he understood why Yuto enjoyed this sort of thing; this also must’ve been what Yuri felt like when he bit his little brothers.

“Now then, Yuto,” Yuya whispered, and Yugo pressed Yuto to him more, running his thumb over the sheer fabric on Yuto’s chest making Yuto moan. “Tell me exactly what happened. You sound like you had a horrible nightmare.”

“I did…” Yuto whispered. “I dreamed that I wasn’t in this palace. But instead I was from the streets, chased off by the wicked guards. These guards destroyed my home and everything that I held dear. They kidnapped my best friend…and here I feel happy but whenever I dream I feel like _ that's _ my old life and this life...with you...is fake. It’s not real.”

“My, my that does sound serious,” Yuya said with a ‘tsk’. “What else do you remember?”

Yuto flinched. “I remember eating nothing but stale bread and hot soup for days. I remember cold, cold nights on the floor, afraid that it might be my last night alive… had to… fight to survive…” 

“Our darling Yuto,” Yugo purred, “This is exactly the life we never want you to remember. We took you in, gave you warm food, warm water to bathe in, we removed such horrors from your mind,” Yugo whispered, running his hand over Yuto’s leg, Yuya trailing kisses down Yuto’s neck. 

“But…” Yuto whimpered. “There’s something...important…”

Yugo narrowed his eyes. “Something more important than us?”

Yuto froze. There was… nothing more important than them… but something… something still felt wrong… missing…

“Nothing is more important than serving your masters,” Yuya hissed, low, threatening. “Isn’t that right, Shun?”

“Nothing...more important...masters…” Shun mumbled, voice soft. Yuto whimpered. That sounded wrong.

“No…” he pleaded. “There’s more...I remember...me in a room, and you did something to my head. It felt...heavy. I was...tied to a chair and it was like you were squeezing my head. I begged for the pain to stop yet it wouldn’t go away…and then there was...something glowing…”

“Like...what?” asked Yuya, staring at his pendulum.

Yuto bit his lip, unsure how to describe it. Flashes of something formed in his mind. “A...pretty...pendulum…”

“Like this?” asked Yuya, removing his pendulum and letting it swing back and forth in front of Yuto’s eyes. 

Yuto swallowed, eyes following the pendulum. “Yes...like...that…”

“Do you remember anything else?” Yugo egged on, petting Shun’s head. “Don’t be shy; we won’t be mad. In fact, when you tell us the truth, it makes us so happy. You want to make us happy, don’t you?”

“Ye-yes… I wanna… make you...happy....”

“So tell us, do you remember anything else?”

Yuto swallowed, trying to find a memory in his sleepy mind, but it was so hard. The pendulum was distracting him, and it was hard to speak. “You...said...things...you made me...calm. I...didn’t...like...it…”

“Why didn’t you?” Yuya pouted.

“It felt...fake…” Yuto answered, as best as he could. He just wanted this pain and hurt to go away. He wanted to be happy, wanted to be calm, wanted to be free of worry.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s fake though, pretty phantom, it makes you feel better doesn’t it? We make you feel happy, calm, don’t you want to always be that way?”

“I… I do…” Yuto said. It was useless to fight, even though a part of him was resisting...always resisting…

“No need to resist, no need to fight, everything is okay, everything is alright,” Yuya whispered.

“Everything is… alright…” Yuto repeated.

Yugo giggled. “Now then, keep watching the pendulum and as you do, the worry in your mind disappears, it goes back into the darkness. The light of our control frees you from your horrible past. You are ours, you are our beautiful harem boy, our loving, happy _ obedient _ servant.”

“Back to the darkness...your Harem boy… obedient servant…” Yuto droned, smiling. Everything was okay, perfect, at peace. He had everything he wanted and his masters loved him no matter what. He had nothing to fear.

“Now then our beautiful Harem boy,” Yuya purred. “When you came to us, you learned how to dance. You love dancing because it makes you feel happy, frees your mind of worry. It makes you go blank as you focus on entertaining us. When you dance, nothing else matters, nothing else exists. “

“Nothing else… exists…”

“That’s right. Would you like to dance for us? Would you like us to see how much you’ve learned?” 

Yuto smiled softly and nodded shyly. “Yes… I would like to show my masters…”

Yugo grinned as he patted Shun’s back. “I want you to open your eyes and I want you to go to Yuto. You will dance for the two of us. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Shun smiled as well. “Yes… it would be…” 

“Then what are you waiting for? Go to Yuto, stand up and dance.”

Shun nodded and stood up, walking to Yuto and taking his hand before the two of them started to dance. Yuya conjured up flute music, cymbals and drums to help make it much more...enchanting. Not that the two dancers noticed it though, arms swinging from side to side, with Yuto circling around his beloved treasure with a teasing look on his face. Sometimes they bumped hips together, but it didn’t matter. Only the dance, only entertaining their masters did.

“So pretty…” Yugo cooed, watching Yuto, roll his shoulders, looking so beautiful in that dark veil. “I wish this could last forever…”

Yuto smiled at the praise, happy to get such a reaction from his masters. So he continued, spinning round and round, mind blank and empty and him oh so blissed out and happy.

Suddenly, Yuto’s back bumped into something and he froze, a shadowy hand with sharp claws was placed on his cheek. Yuto stood there, eyes wide, still under a trance. 

** _My, my, what were my darling boys up to while I was away? _ **The voice purred.

“F-father…” Yuya stuttered, eyes wide at seeing Zarc standing by the door. At least it was better than his mother arriving. _ That _ would have been embarrassing… and probably disastrous. 

Yugo gulped, knowing that once Father removed the trance from Yuto, Yuto was going to kill them both.

Zarc tilted Yuto’s face and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Poor dear. Can you tell me what happened to you?”

Yuto tilted his head, unsure who this person was. All he knew were his partner, Shun and his masters. But there was a pull… such a strong one to obey, stronger than the trance he was under. He...had to…

“I was taken in by these princes,” Yuto answered, voice soft as in a dream. “They took me in along with my friend, Shun. We are...dancing for them.”

“Really now?” Zarc questioned, noticing how Shun was still dancing despite not having his partner with him. Zarc licked his lips; Yuya’s illusion magic was so good.

“Yes…” Yuto answered in a breathy voice. “It is the least...we can do…”

Zarc chuckled, he caressed Yuto’s face, and Yuto couldn’t help but lean to the touch happily. “Naughty boys, putting your brother under a trance,” Zarc said lightly, running his thumb over Yuto’s lips. “What type of scenario did you give him?”

“Uh...we made Shun and Yuto our servants and dancers…” Yuya squeaked. “But made it so that Yuto felt like this wasn’t his true life…”

“Well I do have to admit, your brother looks quite pretty like this,” Zarc purred. “Oh, my darling Phantom will be _ very _angry at you two when he wakes up.”

“He...kinda deserved it for what he did back at the Battle Royale…” Yugo muttered, recalling how he wouldn’t stop being sweet around Shun. Yuya nodded; it was embarrassing for Yuto to use that special pressure point in front of Gongenzaka and Mieru! 

Zarc kept running his claws through Yuto’s hair, making him more and more relaxed in his arms, a small smile on his lips, eyes faded and half laid, giving small sighs and gasps. He looked adorable in that outfit and the veil. So adorable that he shouldn’t be the _ only one _ in this attire.

“You made these two your slaves as if you are princes from the Middle East...yet you don’t even decide to dress up in proper attire?” Zarc questioned, noting how Yugo and Yuya were in their plain cotton pajamas.

The way Zarc said that made both boys look in horror. This...this would not end well.

Zarc grinned as he kept stroking Yuto’s hair. “Come now, if you _ really _want to indulge in this fantasy, might as well go all the way.” He then placed a kiss on Yuto’s head. “Why don’t you and your partner rest for now? I would like a word with your masters.”

Yuto nodded with a smile, no thought of disobeying or protesting, he walked to Shun and took his hand before leading him to the pillows and both of them sitting there, waiting for more commands.

Zarc sauntered his way towards Yugo and Yuya, the two knowing it was futile to run away from Father. Zarc smiled as he knelt towards his boys.

“Don’t you want to join them in such a tranquil state?” he asked, gold eyes glowing, a sharp smirk on his lips, fangs clear as day. “I mean, it’s only fair. Just look at how happy they are in their adorable outfits, waiting to please their masters. Just like how you are so happy to please your father…”

Both boys shivered. They were happy to please their Father, even now just hearing Father say these words did that desire start to form. Them in such pretty silk outfits and gold jewelry, eyes faded and happy smiles on their faces...it would be nice... 

Zarc’s smirk was sharper, his hand caressing the boys’ cheeks. “Yes, I know how much all my boys love pleasing their Father. Love being under his power, under such pretty trances. Would my boys dance for me? Swing their hips, spin around, run their hands over each other’s bodies only for my viewing pleasure?”

“Yes Father,” they both said with a happy smile and faded eyes. “We’d love to dance for you, we’d do anything to please you.”

“Music to my ears~” Zarc purred, placing a hand on Yuya’s chin and let his hand fall to Yuya’s pendulum, which he swung over the boy’s dull crimson eyes. “Now then, I think my pretty shooting star needs a change of clothing…”

His eyes began to glow as Yuya’s grey pajamas became a vibrant crimson decorated with gold stars. He had a pretty gold collar with a large star in the center, little charm bracelets and anklets with matching stars and henna stars on the back of his hands.

Zarc licked his lips. “My, I could eat you right up, such a pretty boy, my Yuya. Shining like the stars themselves.”

Yuya basked in the glow of the praise. He was a star, a star that would shine even in the darkest of days.

Zarc then turned to Yugo who still had his crystal wings out. “And you too, Yugo. Mmm, I really adore these wings and the power that radiates within them. But alas, you’re under my control, aren’t you?”

Yugo smiled. “Yes, I am under your control,” his voice was soft and a little distant, but happy and calm, and ready to obey.

Zarc cooed a little as he used his magic to change Yugo’s outfit. It was still white but now there were green diamond patterns decorating the vest and sides of his legs. He also had green diamond earrings, a thin silver head chain decorated with a large green diamond on the center of his forehead and silver bracelets with diamonds on his wrists. 

“Now, my little dancers,” Zarc cooed. “Do you know how you came to serve me?”

Yuya and Yugo shook their heads, lips slightly parted, eyes faded, minds empty, only ready to serve and obey. 

Zarc chuckled. “Yuya performed in the streets with his acrobatics while Yugo would steal as much coins as he could from the audience. Acts like this would’ve made such pretty boys like you go to jail...but I found you, and I wanted you both. I could tell that you would be so _ perfect _. I brought you into my palace, bathed you, gave you clothes and fed you well. You had a taste of rosewater laced with a special potion that made you oh so sleepy.”

Both boys shivered and licked their lips, as if remembering the taste of something oh so sweet.

“You love performing for me, dancing in such pretty outfits. I trained you well, gave you the praise and admiration you desired. And when I asked you to dance, you did so without any hesitation. You obeyed so well, made me so happy.

“And then you found these two poor souls…” Zarc motioned to Yuto and Shun. “They were hurt, struggling to survive from cruel guards who accused them of such petty crimes. You alerted me to them and so I brought them in. Shun was easy to hypnotize and control but Yuto resisted a lot. He didn’t like seeing his best friend become transformed into some mindless yet happy doll. But I’ve been doing this longer than either of you. I put the sweet little boy under my complete control, and while he may resist from time to time, he will _ never _disobey me,” Zarc purred. “None of you will.” 

“We never will, we will always obey you,” Yuya and Yugo recited.

“Yes, poor poor Yuto. He always breaks out and escapes but he’s always drawn back to me. And once he’s in trance and dancing his cares away, he’ll forget why he was scared in the first place. I’d like to keep it that way...so why don’t you go and comfort Yuto? Kiss him, touch him, tell him that I only want what’s best. For him to be happy.”

The two boys smiled. “As you wish~” they both answered and walked towards Yuto with no hesitation, taking each side of him, and running their hands over Yuto, kissing his neck, cheeks, behind his ears. 

“Yuto should never be afraid,” Yuya cooed. 

“Yes, master only wants our happiness. Likes to keep us warm and safe in his palace,” Yugo agreed, removing the veil that covered the lower half of Yuto’s face.. 

“We love master, don’t we Yugo?” Yuya asked as he kept kissing the black and lavender haired boy.

“Yes love him above all else,” Yugo said. “Our only wish in life is to please him. And in return he will keep us happy, with our bellies full and our bodies warmed by fire. Do you not remember that sweet rosewater drink he gave you? How it made you relaxed while master weaved his spell of love and control on you?” 

Yuto was sighing and moaning, his mind absorbing the story. Yes he remembered the potion, how it made him so tired and sleepy. He was scared when he was tied to a chair, forced to stare into a glowing pendulum as master weaved his spell...but then he was so happy. So so happy. Happy happy happy that master was loving and kind and only placed the spell on Yuto so he never had to feel hurt anymore.

“And Shun too,” Yuya added, kissing Shun’s ear. “Deep down, he wanted to submit. He was such a feisty specimen but he turned out to be as docile as a pussy cat. He accepted his role so easily, and if he ever starts resisting then it’s easy to fix. He doesn’t even remember his past, do you?” 

Shun let out a happy sigh and nodded. “I only remember what Master wants me to remember…” he murmured. 

Yuya giggled, and Yugo tilted Yuto’s face to his, before kissing him, curling his tongue against Yuto’s as they kissed passionately, hands roaming over each other. 

“Is Master pleased?” Yuya asked, smiling cutely at Zarc.

Zarc laughed at the show. “I am, I am very pleased. You all obey me so well.” 

Yugo broke the kiss, smiling at Zarc, “We’re all happy to please you, Master.” Yuto nodded his head, face flushed.

Yuya giggled and licked Shun’s cheek. “What does our master want now? Would he want to please us until we break?”

“Oh the way I can play with you, my darlings,” Zarc purred, crawling towards his sons. He smirked at Shun -- he wasn’t like his precious Yuri, but he would break this boy just the same.

He took Yuto to his lap and tilted his head up and kissed him deeply, curling his tongue against Yuto’s and ravishing him senseless. Yuto moaned at the kiss, at how his master cared for him so. How could he be a fool to want to leave this place, and be away from his Master’s arms? 

Meanwhile Yuya and Yugo giggled as they helped Shun lie down. They removed his vest and began to kiss his chest, Yugo biting one of Shun’s nipples and Yuya biting Shun’s shoulder. Shun shivered, the only outward expression to convey that he sensed someone playing with his body.

Zarc broke the kiss and licked his lips, looking down in satisfaction at Yuto’s flushed face, panting at how good it felt. The look in Yuto’s eyes reminded him of the last person he had seduced before coming here…

…

…

…

_ He had pressed her to the wall, the two of them invisible from the children watching the TV. Zarc could see it in her eyes, the fear, the uncertainty and lust, she looked as beautiful as he remembered her back then. _

_ “What are you doing?” she asked, _

_ “Shh now, no need to get anyone’s attention is there?” Zarc asks, voice husky. “I just want us to...get together. You feel that way, deep within your very soul, that you are mine...” _

_ “No,no...Stop this Zarc please,” she whispered heatedly, placing her hands on his chest in order to try and stop him, but the shock of actually touching him, actually feeling him beneath her hands was startling enough for her to lose focus, her eyes widened and her breath hitched. _

_ Zarc’s smirk was sharp, “Ray,” he whispered against her lips, making her gasp, cheeks flushed as his finger caressed down her cheek. She felt under a hypnotic spell, she could feel him, his body, his breath, his lips inches from her own. She hadn’t felt these sensations in such a long time. “Come with me Ray,” he whispered, and against her better judgement she nodded. _

_ Ray blinked, finding herself on a four-poster bed with black silk sheets, and a long black canopy bedsheet like a veil of shadows, covering her in darkness. She shivered and sat up before seeing Zarc hovering over her, which made her lean back, uncertain. _

_ “Zarc,” She whispered, eyes wide in fear. “What...what are you doing? I know we have a truce, but you want me dead...why...what are you--?” _

_ Zarc hushed her as he placed a gloved finger over her lips. “Oh I was quite angry at you Ray, but it’s all right now, I know it wasn’t your fault. You are not solely to blame as to what’s going on.” He whispered gently and caressed her cheek lovingly. “I have missed you, missed all those times being with you. I want you here in my arms, forever. Always forever.” _

_ “...You don’t let go of grudges that easily,” she whispered, looking away from him, trying to hide the tears in her eyes. _

_ “I don’t let go of my treasures at all,” Zarc whispered in her ear, placing a kiss on her neck, making her gasp. _

_ “Is that what you think of me?” Ray whispers. “Some toy? Some shiny bauble that you’ll eventually bore of once it's lost its lustre?” _

_ Zarc didn’t seem bothered by her accusation, he removed the hair ties in her hair, letting it fall down like blood and wine mixed together. “You don’t seem to understand the meaning of a treasure to a dragon, Ray. A treasure is something that belongs to a dragon. That it sees as nothing less than precious, as his and his alone. A treasure never loses its luster, never. It simply becomes lovelier with time, no matter how many treasures we collect. I’ll never toss you away. I want you with me for eternity as my Queen.” _

_ “And rule over all of humanity? These humans have done nothing to you. They have not raided your treasure and killed off your sons or subjects.” _

_ “And yet they still have something that belongs to me, the dimension itself was my domain, my subjects forcibly removed from it. They took my home by force, and I intend to return things as they used to before. I don’t plan to eradicate humanity my sweet girl,” he said, taking a lock of her hair and spinning it around his finger playfully. “But to rule it, to rule all the dimensions as they were all one, and place my children on their intended thrones. Is it really that bad to do such a thing? Take what’s mine? Considering that the alternative is to let your _ father _ get away with his crimes? You know how long it will take to repair Heartland? Buildings are easy to fix, but the scars in the minds of the survivors will last for a long _ long _ time, like words written in wet cement. _

_“And don’t make me mention all those poor innocent souls brainwashed to believe they are fighting a noble cause. How many people are going to be able to move on from this? How many people, when faced with the truth, will fervently follow the Professor’s beliefs? How long will it be before many of these ‘soldiers’ card themselves because they cannot confront the sins they committed? How many of these people were their points in this hunting game? Ten? Twenty? How many families have they separated? Thirty? Forty? How many more will they card? A hundred? Two hundred? A _thousand?! _Tell me Ray, how much longer can you let this happen?”_

_ “Stop…” Ray whispered. “I don’t know...I … People won’t let you rule, they’ll rebel, they’ll do drastic things, and you don’t shy away from bloodshed...I don’t...I…” _

_ “People only rebel when they have something to rebel over. Why shouldn’t I change the way the world works? What reason do they have to defy me? Fear and love are powerful motivations for obedience. People worship what they fear. Fear, my dear Ray, is power. Love is motivation. I don’t intend to rule as a tyrant, Ray. I never was one, -- you read all these stories, all these texts, coming from a time of fear and ignorance. There used to be harmony in my kingdom, but humans feared me, feared my wrath, they were greedy for power and they sought to take it from me. They succeeded, and then turned on each other, didn’t they? The humans still wage wars, but only with one another. So if a single ruler took all, united all, ruled with fear and love, then why stop that person?” _

_ “You intend to brainwash all of humanity?” _

_ “Humans tend to look for leaders, and once I return my subjects to this world there is going to be in need of one, now that the dimensions are divided as they are, that everyone uses Duel Monsters, as entertainment and as weapons, do you really think it would be that hard for me to rule? I have riches and power. I am a king and there is nothing that can stop me, is there?” _

_ “...” _

_ Zarc smiled at his pretty treasure. “Come,” he said, extending his hand, “I wish to give you a beautiful night, let me present you with a gift.” _

_ “A gift?” _

_ “Yes. Something better than those bracelets. Something that will show off your status as mine, I’ll present it to you by the end of the night, for now, how would you like to attend a ball? _

_ “A...A ball?!” Ray blinked at him. “W-where? What would I even wear?” _

_ Zarc chuckled “In my castle, and leave your wardrobe to me, my love,” he said, kissing her hand tenderly. _

_ Ray blushed, bouting slightly. “I forgot how much I liked when you did that…” she whispered to herself, a smirk threatened to come over Zarc’s features, but he kept his charming smile. _

_ “Come, let’s get you something...enchanting to wear, my heart.” _

_ Ray bit her lip and got off of the bed, her hand still in Zarc’s own as he led her outside of the room and through the halls of the castle. She looked around her, the marble floors, the windows extended from the roof to the floor, some were colored glass with gorgeous artwork of dragons and fairies and other things that Ray could catch glimpses of. She tried to pay attention to everything, but something else always got her attention. The palace was mesmerizing, as much as its owner. She shook her head and looked at Zarc once more, finally noticing what he was wearing: a long white dress blouse, black pants with green diamonds and a long black cape held around his shoulders by a golden chain. He even wore black diamond earrings and somehow his skin was _glowing.

_ “Oh?” said Zarc. “Is there something on my face?” He asked playfully with a grin. _

_ Ray blushed and looked away. Zarc...Zarc was gorgeous, there’s no denying that, far too beautiful for her own good, and these accessories really accentuated his beauty. It reminded her too much of that film, “Labyrinth”, where the main protagonist is whisked away into a dream of a masquerade ball by the ruler of the Labyrinth itself, the Goblin King. It was a cheesy film, but still the imagery and the song just came back to her in that instant and she couldn’t help but see herself in a white dress and waltzing past midnight with Zarc. _

_ “Why are you having a ball?” she finally asked, risking another look at him. She really had to get a hold of herself, hell, at best she can appreciate looking at Zarc. _

_ Zarc smirked. “You look quite flushed Ray, are you alright?” He asked, kissing her hand again. If he didn’t stop this, Ray’s heart was going to burst out of her chest. _

_ “Don’t change the subject,” Ray replied, pulling her hand away and touching it as if she was burned. “Why are you having a ball?” _

_ Zarc chuckled, “Why, to celebrate you back to my life of course,” he said as he pulled Ray to him, placing his hand on her waist and raising her in the air to twirl her around. “I mean, isn’t it every girl’s life to dance in a magnificent ball like this? With glitter and sparkles and food of all sorts laid out? To dance until one’s shoes were broken down? To find themselves lost in the eyes of what could be their prince charming?“ he asked, letting Ray down, but pressing her to his chest, his hand on the small of her back. “It’s a small gift for you Ray, I’m going to be treating you like a true princess tonight, wouldn’t you like that?” _

_ “I’m no princess,” Ray replied. _

_ “Your father sees himself as a king, he rules a kingdom and a castle. He is off to slay the dragon that hurt his little princess. You have quite the rebellious streak going for you, you wish to bring peace and harmony -- even going up against an evil dragon like myself -- oh, and you have such _ lovely flowing hair _ . Did anyone mention that?” _

_ “Don’t make fun of me!” Ray yelled, face heating up. _

_ Zarc chuckles. “Very well, how about this? I’m the king, and I’d like to give my future Queen a night to remember.” _

_ “I didn’t agree to be your queen,” Ray said unsure, her treacherous heart hammering in her chest, pressed to Zarc’s own. _

_ He didn’t answer her, simply continued leading her through the halls again, his hand on her back, she was wondering why she kept letting him touch her like that. _

_ “You’ll make everyone in my castle so unhappy~” Zarc pouted. _

_ She sighed. “I guess there’s no harm in it,” she answered. Zarc was being really playful, like back when they were dating and engaged. It’s like a new game, he always spoiled her with the things he kept giving her, and maybe...she missed it, missed feeling so precious in Zarc’s eyes, missed feeling his love for her, missed him so much… she didn’t know how to respond to wanting to rule the world yet, she could tell that it was a better alternative than what her father was planning. _

_ But to be fair...he did have good points, she was still scared though, over everything else, she really was still scared, one night of fun wouldn’t end it all...right? _

_ “Splendid!” Zarc said. “Now, let’s get you dressed. Oh, we’re coming up to the place where you’ll get all dolled up, my dear.” _

_ They entered a room that was huge to say the least, it was painted golden brown. a small stage surrounded by mirrors meant to show the entire body from all angles, dresses and clothes everywhere, on hangers, draped onto the chairs and more. It looked like a giant theater mixed with a doll house. _

_ There were two women waiting there, both of them had long dark hair that reached their backs, both wore simple dresses the one with the blue gem had her dress trimmed with green and the other one with orange trim had goofy looking glasses on with spirals at the lens that heavily contrasted the elegant dress. Ray wondered if the woman could actually see in them. _

_ “Hello ladies,” Zarc said. _

_ “Your majesty,” they both greeted, bowing slightly. _

_ Zarc turned to Ray and smiled. “These two are Misty Tredwell and Carly Carmine, they’ll help you dress for the ball.” _

_ Ray blinked at seeing the ladies in their black dresses. They looked like witches, ready to stir up a brew in a giant cauldron. All that was missing were the pointy hats and broomsticks, which to be fair might be somewhere she couldn’t see. _

_ “Now then my love, what shall we dress you with?” Zarc questioned, spreading his arms wide at the colorful garments waiting to be worn and loved for just one night. _

_ “Knowing you, I’d be wearing black,” Ray said, rolling her eyes, even though she was frozen at how fancy the room was. From the looks of it, this was fancier than even the swankiest of shopping malls she’s ever been to! _

_ “Oh but you look just downright _ gorgeous _ in black, Ray,” Zarc walked to her whispering, “Lovely, sexy, downright _ irresistible _ ,” _

_ Ray giggled. “Okay stop that,” she gave him a slight push that didn’t even make him budge. _

_ Misty approached Ray and cupped the woman’s chin. A distant look was in her eye as she inspected every single part of Ray’s face. _

_ “U...um, what are you doing?” Ray asked, unsure if this was how Misty would determine the make-up for tonight’s festivities. _

_ “I’m reading your future, Lady Ray,” Misty answered. “I study physiognomy, which allows me to see what lies in store for you just by looking at your face.” _

_ “And...what do you see?” _

_ Misty smiled. “I see such great things for you in the future: power, love, a new age for all.” _

_ “Future…?” Ray asked. She didn’t think she had a future, not truly and not as she is, without body, without power, and fighting her father. _

_ “Oh, that sounds so lovely,” the other woman, Carly, said clasping her hands together. She giggled as she removed her glasses (which vanished in a blink of an eye) revealing wide innocent grey eyes. She looked absolutely beautiful without them which made Ray wonder why Carly would even have those glasses in the first place. “Oh your majesty, should you _ really _ be here? Wouldn’t you rather Lady Ray’s look be a surprise?” _

_ “Besides,” Misty added. “You need to warn the other witches to get in their finest apparel, and the Dragon Vassals must make sure their wings are nice and groomed.” _

_ “Witches…?” Ray repeated. “Who are the witches, and what other Dragon Vessels aside from the Kaiba brothers and Joey Wheeler?” Ray said tilting her head. _

_ “Oh? You’ve met the three?” Zarc asked, tilting his head. _

_ “I...um, yeah?” _

_ “Hmm…” Zarc hummed. “Very well, show me your best work ladies,” he said, placing his fingers under Ray’s chin, and tilting her head. But before he kissed her, he let her go, gave Ray a playful bow and headed to the door with a flip of his cape. _

_ Ray watched him leave, and her face turned absolutely red as she squeaked like a teenage girl with a crush on her favorite boy band or actor. _

_ “What the hell? What the hell? What the hell?” she said to herself, feeling like Cinderella about to go to the ball, a ball that would not cease even when the clock struck twelve. She covered her face wanting to scream at herself. _

_ “Oh come now, it’s not that bad,” Misty said with a smile. “At least, not as bad as the fantasies Carly has had in the past.” _

_ “Misty!” Carly gasped, a blush on her cheeks. _

_ “I feel like a teenager again,” Ray said, feeling so giddy yet so impressed at herself. “Zarc was always a charming bastard; he always got what he wanted. Now he’s making me feel like a princess in a fairy tale and it’s not fair.” _

_ “Well, why don’t we make your fantasies come true then?” Carly asked, waving a wand as long as herself that somehow materialized in thin-air as black dresses flew towards Carly’s side. Ray’s eyes widened. Each dress was different: the sleeves, the ruffles, some had ribbons tied over the heart, others had a long trail in the back like a bird’s tail feathers. Each of them floated around like ghosts, and Ray wanted to touch them, yet they would weave away at the last second. And for a second, she thought she heard the dresses giggle and laugh at her. _

_ “Black…” she said with a sigh. _

_ “We can always give you another color,” Misty suggested.. _

_ “No, it has to be black. He always loved that color on me, always made him go crazy.” Ray chuckled. “Oh, what the hell, let’s make it impossible for him to take his eyes off of me!” _

_ “For that, you need to find a dress _ you _ just can’t take your eyes off of,” Carly chuckled...and for some odd reason her voice was deeper than before. She slammed the bottom of her staff to the ground as a figure emerged behind her. A mannequin. _

_ “This mannequin will model the dress that you think will draw Zarc to you like bees to flowers,” Misty explained. “When you find the right dress, just say ‘Stop’. Are you ready?” _

_ “I suppose,” said Ray, not that used to magic being used so mundanely, but she really wanted this badly. It’s one night for her fantasies. She nodded to Misty. _

_ “Splendid!” The woman said, exchanging a look with Carly. She clapped her hands at the dresses. “Single file, please.” and as if the dress were alive, they gathered together, one behind the other beside the mannequin. Ray looked in awe; this was like all the fantasy books and movies she devoured come to life! _

_ “Shall we give her a mask as well or keep her pretty face bare?” Carly asked. _

_ “Let’s discuss this after we have our future queen dolled up,” Misty chuckled _

_ One dress after another were tried on the mannequin, so many dresses all shades of black and pretty decorations, begging to be worn tonight that it made Ray dizzy. So many gowns and dresses to choose from. She finally settled on something quite gorgeous, and while usually it would make her embarrassed, she thought it would be worth it to see _ that _ look in Zarc’s eyes, as if he wants to devour her whole. _

_ The gown was long and backless, the bodice was split in two, showing quite the skin, decorated with black roses that descend down for a bit more, held to her body by thin straps where the sleeves would be. The sheer fabric that made up the skirt reminded her of shadows shifting and dancing when brought near a candle’s flame...or perhaps the flaming breath of a dragon. _

_ “Oh yes! Lord Zarc would never be able to take his eyes off of you!” Carly gushed, hands on her cheeks. “Ah, I hope one day I would be able to dance like this with my true king.” _

_ Ray blinked at that as Misty sighed. “Carly was once in love with a king known as Jack Atlas. But tragedy befell her and...well, let’s just say she wasn’t happy to awaken here to find that her relationship with Jack never happened.” _

_ “I see...I’m so sorry…” she said looking down. _

_ Carly shook her head. “Oh it’s alright, Lord Zarc promised me I’d get him back, me and… a few other friends that miss him quite a bit.” She smiled softly before she was beaming for joy that looked out of place for a witch like herself. “Now then, let's make you the belle of the ball! More than you’re already are that is. Let’s do your hair first.” _

_ They sat Ray down on a chair with red velvet cushions and dolled her up, hair in a pun, with locks framing her face, held together by a bejeweled hair net that had five crystals on it, one that descended to her forehead and four over her head. Smokey eyeliner that made her eyes look sharper with black lipstick as if her mouth was coated in a thin layer of ink, and Misty painted her nails, adding some small rhinestones on them, making them shimmer like stars. _

_ “I look amazing,” Ray whispered in amazement, looking in the four mirrors. The change in wardrobe was quite different to her normal attire. _

_ “A benefit of being a fashion model is that you always pick up a few tricks to looking beautiful,” Misty said with a chuckle _

_ “You two are incredible,” she told them. _

_ “There’s one last thing we must do,” said Carly, approaching an ebony jewelry box. She opened the lid and picked up the only item inside: a deck of cards. “Ray, please pick a card.” _

_ Ray blinked at Carly but nodded as Carly fanned out the cards for Ray to choose. Ray paused, hand hovering towards one of the cards in the middle before flipping it over. _

_ “Fortune Lady?” Ray said, noticing the Spellcaster in her hand. _

_ “Yes, before I really picked up dueling I used to have a deck of Fortune Fairies that I used to predict the future, now I have a new one, my Fortune Ladies, and I use them for the same thing sometimes,” Carley explained. “What did you get?” _

_ Ray showed the card to Carly, making the other girl smile. “Fortune Lady Dark. She helps resurrect any of her fallen sisters from the graveyard.” _

_ “So she’s a necromancer?” _

_ “Exactly. She presents second chances, a new life, and her relation to the graveyard hints at mysteriousness yet to come,” Carly explained _

_ “Wait a second,” said Misty. “Something’s missing...ah yes. Your mask.” She went rampaging through a cabinet in the back before returning with a black and green mask that covered Ray’s eyes, with one side having more to cover her cheek and on the shorter side was a black rose surrounded by feathers with two long chains of green triangles. _

_ “Now, you are perfect,” Misty said smirking as she placed the mask over Ray’s eyes. “I will be quite surprised if our king could take his greedy eyes off of you for a moment.” _

_ They heard a knock on the door before a small girl with green hair in pigtails and a beautiful blue and pink dress came in, with a golden dragon mask on her face. “The party is about to start, are you girls done?” She asked before looking at the three of them and gasping in delight. “Wow, you three look gorgeous!” _

_ “Luna, we’re just in our normal dresses,” Carly giggled. “Is your brother ready?” _

_ “Mhm, he’s really excited for the ball, boasting about how he’s going to impress everyone with his skills. Oh, you better hurry up, his majesty wants to start,” Luna said before closing the door leaving the girls to finish. _

_ “Cute girl,” Ray said as Carly helped her slip her feet into a pair of black pumps. _

_ “You’ll be getting to know everyone soon enough,” Carley said. “Now then. Luna was right; we should hurry up,” Carly said and both women hit the floor with their staffs changing into complete new dresses with their own masks, colored orange and green respectively. Carly’s dress had vibrant wings that seemed to rapidly hum while Misty’s dress had a reptilian design, judging by the scales. _

_ “Whoa…” Ray whispered. _

_ Misty flipped her hair. “Shall we then ladies? Everyone is waiting.” _

_ Ray nodded as she followed Misty out of the door, Carly behind them, her grey eyes darkening to a shade of black like Ray’s dress and a triangle mark forming underneath the corner of her left eye. _

_ “This is going to be good,” she chuckled. _

_ \------ _

_ Inside the throne room where the ball was held, Zarc sat on his throne, looking over the Dragon Vassals and Calamity Witches, the music could be heard, a lovely symphony that some were dancing to, a Dragon Vassal with white and blue wings along with his partner that had black wings with purple orbs like eyes inset dancing together as if they never wanted to separate, as were Pharaoh Atem and Yugi Muto, along with several of the witches as they giggled and twirled using their wands to liven everything with sparkles and streamers of color. _

_ A buffet that Leo didn’t know where to start with was laid out. Next to him, Joey was already stuffing himself silly. _

_ “This is so exciting!” Leo said, in his white suit with a blue shirt trimmed with gold. His wings looked like dried parchment, yet he also had mechanical gauntlets and a tail with a drill for a tip. Luna and Mokuba were by his side, chatting away at how much fun they will have in the near future. In Luna’s hands was a brown fur ball with a long tail, a red ribbon tied into a bow being its sole decoration. _

_ Joey looked around and sighed ,leaving the food and heading to where Seto was standing against the wall. “Jeez how did you ever make business without small talks, you wallflower? “Com’er and dance with me, all right?” _

_ “I did them just fine,” Seto answered but didn’t fight Joey as he was dragged to the dance floor. _

_ Moments later the doors opened and everyone’s eyes landed on the three ladies that entered the room. Zarc’s eyes widened, pupils shrunk looking at Ray in all her splendor. She was beautiful. She was magnificent. She was _ his treasure _ . He wanted to take her into his arms and never let go, kiss her, bite her, mark her forever as his own. _

_ Zarc heard a giggle. _ “You’re growling,” _ it made him blink and look around for the familiar voice, he felt a pang in his chest, it had been too long but he remembered that voice. _

_ “Tempest…?” He sighed, deciding to ignore it, he must have hallucinated that voice. Nothing more. _

_ He rose from his throne and walked to Ray, Carly and Misty as the Dragon Vassals and Calamity Witches whispered to one another in excitement, in glee, in curiosity.. “Welcome ladies. And you look magnificent, my love,” Zarc said, not hiding the look of hunger in his eyes as he looked Ray up and down. It was hard to resist planting a kiss over the exposed skin on her chest. _

_ “You look ready to eat me... _ My lord _ ,” Ray said with a smirk. _

_ “Perhaps I will,” Zarc replied. It made Ray blush again, but she didn’t want to lose the game yet. _

_ Misty and Carley took their leave, as Zarc extended a hand to Ray which she took, the Dragon King brought her hand up to his lips to kiss it. “Come then, dance with me,” he whispered huskily to her, and well...Ray really couldn’t resist that. She blushed and nodded her head as she followed him toward the center of the throne room.. _

_ She thought the lights had dimmed a bit but she couldn’t be sure, as Zarc pressed her body to his, placing a hand on her waist, while holding Ray’s hand in his. The music started, a slow haunting symphony that washed over Ray. As much as she didn’t want Zarc to take his eyes off of her, she forgot it also worked the other way around and she couldn’t take her eyes off of him, she lost all thought but looked into Zarc’s golden eyes. Everything felt so far away, she saw Zarc smirk as he led her body on the dance floor. Misty and Carly giggled as they approached the Dragon Vassals with blue/silver wings and black with purple wings. _

_ “It seems our king has obtained a prey,” The one with blue/silver wings commented. _

_ Ray’s body relaxed in Zarc’s arms completely, her mind going numb, her eyes faded away, masks around her turned into dragons in her mind. Her breath hitched, she was spun around and found herself in the arms of another dragon, black with red eyes, before a white dragon spun her around, and she found herself in the arms of witch with red hair, a blonde witch in a white outfit, another blonde witch in a violet garb and eagle talons, one whose eyes were covered in bandages, one with cyan hair. There were too many faces to keep track of. She couldn't keep up, over and over and over again, one dragon and witch after another. She felt dizzy, disoriented, the music got more haunting and sweet and alluring. As she felt herself fall, Zarc took her into his arms again, she gasped softly, and he kissed her lips, she surrendered. _

_ Zarc chuckled as he removed the mask covering her eyes, placing his fingers under her chin as another waltz played in the back. _

_ “My my, such a dark princess,” he purred. “Trying to seduce your king with shadows but ended up becoming resurrected to my side.” _

_ Ray’s breath came out broken as Zarc led the dance once more, trailing his claws lightly over her bare back. “I have so many guests you know, but you’re the only one holding my attention, Princess, you take my breath away, my lovely Ray. Shall I kiss you again?” _

_ She nodded, and Zarc licked his fangs as he bent down placing another kiss to Ray’s lips. She gasped and clung to Zarc tightly as the kiss filled her with Darkness. _

_ “Did you know, as the Supreme King of Darkness, my very kiss, my very _ touch _ could corrupt you?” he whispered huskily. “I was truthful to you, Ray, I never controlled you back then, but I learned my lesson, you see,” he whispered as he kissed her again, her hand clutching his tunic once more whimpering. “A dragon never lets go of his treasures, and you shall be forever mine, beloved.” _

_ Ray smiled a little. Yes, that sounded right. Being in the arms of a dark dragon who loved the princess, wearing beautiful dresses, dancing with all of these beautiful dragons and witches, her life filled with magic and wonder _

_ “Stay with me, Ray,” Zarc asked. “Stay with me forever more, and we shall rule this dimension and ensure that no one could cause so much bloodshed again. Professor Akaba will be regarded as a traitor for all time. He wanted to go down in history and he will...as the most despised person in the history of Duel Monsters.” _

_ “My Father…” she whispered, nodding her head. As much as she loved her father, Ray could not hide the fact that he was causing a rampage and genoicde in her name. “Yes, he is not a good man.” _

_ “That’s right,” Zarc whispered, and her body was moving on its own to the music, she held the skirt of her dress as she was spun around by Zarc, and dipped her down, before holding her back up again and danced around the room with her, the music a little fast paced. Zarc spun her around and pressed her back to his chest, trailing kisses down her neck as the Dragon Vassals and Calamity Witches watched in glee, clapping, humming and whispering words of encouragement for Ray, praising her as their queen. _

_ Oh yes, they are angry at how Ray drowned them in the darkness. But it wasn’t her fault, per se. She had no idea that this was the side effect of the En-Cards. It didn’t really matter now; her being the beloved treasure of the Supreme Dragon King was the best revenge there could be. _ She _ would become part of the darkness like they did, twisted and molded into a new form. And unlike them, who knew just what happened, she would not. No, she wouldn’t be aware that she had been changed at all, blinded by the allure of darkness that was Zarc himself. _

_ Ray shivered, finding herself spinning round and round, colors blurring, lights spinning in her mind, emphasizing the glow in Zarc’s golden eyes. So beautiful, deadly, captivating...she could stare at them forever...she was so lightheaded, she felt weightless and floating, happy, so happy in Zarc’s arms, like she hasn’t been for a long time. _

_ “Be my treasure, my beloved dark queen, loyal to me, let your heart darken for me,” Zarc whispered. “Let us remake the world, rebuild our kingdom from the ashes of the old one. Our subjects are skilled in all types of dueling and they will strike down Academia and the fools blinded by that old lion king’s lies.” _

_ “...Zarc…” _

_ Zarc grinned. “Do you desire me, Ray?” _

_ ...She nodded again. _

_ “Words my love,” he whispered teasingly. “Words have power. Say that you desire me, my love” _

_ “I do… I desire you, more than anything…” _

_ “Then let me be your king, your beloved, your husband. Become my _ dark queen _ , Ray.” _

_ Ray found herself being laid down onto the floor, Zarc hovering over her again while dozens of faces big and small, covered in brilliant masks joined in. “Are you mine, Ray?” He asked huskily. _

_ “I’m yours,” she whispered back. _

_ “Forever mine?” he whispered against her lips. _

_ “Forever yours,” she whispered and Zarc finally gave into his desire to kiss the beautiful exposed skin between her breasts, making her gasp and arch her back. _

_ “Naughty girl, so scared of me and yet you desired to seduce me, to drive me wild with your body, isn’t that right?” Ray gasped, her fingers threading through Zarc’s hair. _

_ “Z...Zarc...” she breathed. _

_ “Yes my love, what do you wish of your king?” _

_ Ray smiled. “Take me to your bedchambers, and claim your queen.” _

_ Zaec growled, grinning and showing his fangs, before placing his hands under her back and legs and carried her away. The excited vassals and witches cheered and applauded, and Ray couldn’t help but giggle and wave back to them. Her beloved subjects. _

_ Yes, she would be a grand queen, and take care of them. She will help her husband rule this world and take back what is rightfully his. No one could stop her, no one could tame her. _

_ In what felt like seconds, the two were back in Zarc’s bedroom and the bed with black sheets. Zarc placed his queen on the sheets of his bed once more. And Ray sat up, looking at Zarc with a smile. He chuckled. _

_ “What?” she asked with a smile, all while posing seductively. The smoky eyeshadow gave her a dreamy look, the black sheets accentuating how she had become corrupted by her love. _

_ “I remember the first time I took you.” Zarc said, licking his lips. “You acted so coy with me, but you melted and purred like a kitten once we started. And the morning after, you felt so embarrassed by what you did that you tried hiding your face from me.“ _

_ She giggled. “I think that night ruined me for anyone else. You got me to beg so easily, it wasn’t fair,” she pouted playfully. “How you kept whispering to me, how you took me, how you fucked me all night long. Are you going to do it all over again? Taking me so sweetly?” _

_ Zarc walked to her placing a hand over her waist. “I think I’ll make you scream with ecstasy tonight instead,” he whispered, trailing kisses down the valley of her breasts. “I was always so gentle with you, so many moments I resisted biting you, marking you. But I believe tonight shall be a little bit more special for both of us, my beloved,” his lips trailed kisses down her neck, his hand on her exposed back, until his lips reached her pulse point. _

_ “...My king?” Ray whispered. _

_ Zarc sank his fangs into her filling her body with his venom. Ray gasped, pupils shrinking, her face getting flushed as if she was drunk. Her entire body was on edge, her mind blank as her hands once more clutched Zarc’s tunic to keep her steady. She was laid down, with Zarc’s fangs still in her neck, she panted, smiling, wanting more, wanting her husband to cover her. _

_ Zarc finally removed his fangs from her, and let her hair loose from the hair net and the bun it was tied in. “So pretty, in a pool of darkness, you look so deceptively innocent...but we both know the truth don’t we? You are a seductress, heart filled with darkness, loving and loyal only to your king. You are the one who lures people into the dark world, to a place where they can be protected and loved from the harsh realm of reality. I can see you in Heartland, such a dreary place, lifting people’s spirits as they whisper your name like a _ goddess _ .” _

_ Ray moaned, her hands trailing up Zarc’s chest. She wanted to please him, to kiss him, to listen to his melodious voice and obey his every command like it is Scripture. Something holy, pure, _ right _ . _

_ He looked down at her and growled with pure lust. “Desperate for me, aren’t you? For your king to claim you once more, as he did before.” _

_ Ray nodded fervently. “Yes, yes, please Zarc, my king. Take me, claim the holy woman of light offered to appease your...desires.” _

_ Zarc chuckled. “A holy woman of light offered in exchange for my protection. Is that it? A sacrifice to the mighty dragon. Yet look at you, encased in darkness hugging you like a second skin. The humans took their sweet time dressing you to appease my desires. Yet you still are bathed with the natural energy that the humans have gathered. I wonder...have you been given to me to please me...or to kill me?” _

_ “I am to do with as you desire, sire… giving you any other holy woman would have been a disgrace.” Ray smiled. “I was the strongest of the holy maidens and I requested to be offered up myself. I beg you, Supreme Dragon King.” _

_ Zarc licked his lips. “You are quite beautiful, tempting as sin, know that if I took you, you will never be pure again. Your soul filled with my darkness, your heart filled with lust, your mind lost in the allure that is me, your savior. Are you afraid, Holy Maiden? Because it’s my ultimate pleasure to corrupt that which is innocent and pure, and mold it to my desire.” _

_ “I’m not afraid,” Ray answered boldly. “If it will help others, if it will bring peace to all, then I shall offer up my very being. That is the destiny of the holy maidens; to protect their fellow humans even if it means giving up their lives, their hopes, dreams and futures into the cold, unforgiving and cruel dark.” _

_ “How very noble of you,” Zarc leaned down and whispered in her ear. “All the sweeter to corrupt and shatter and mold you to my liking,” he chuckled. “Your village has my protection, maiden. But _ you _ belong fully to me…” Zarc smirked. “I shall take you on this altar. Are you still unafraid?” _

_ She didn’t say anything, and his grin sharpened. _

_ “Such a simple dress, but I do like it, it makes it so easy for me to expose your body to my eyes,” he whispered trailing his hand under her skirt up her leg. He heard Ray whimper so sweetly. “My my, one touch and you’re already ready to beg. I can see holy maidens are innocent to the dark realms of lust and desire.” _

_ She looked away from him shyly. _

_ “Shall I take the dress off? Hmm, perhaps not yet,” he said raising her skirts up. _

_ “W-what are you d-doing?” _

_ Zarc smirked. “Let me give you a taste of pleasure,” he purred, licking his lips before leaning down, kissing her thigh and beginning the delicious torment and corruption waiting for his future queen. _

_ It didn’t take long for Zarc to find those spots that would cause Ray to melt and be reduced into wet clay in his hands. She screamed and begged over and over Zarc bringing her to the heights of pleasure and shattering her easily, over and over, until she passed out from the exhaustion to which Zarc continued to shatter her mind and mending it with desire and lust and obedience and want. _

_ He had left her to rest for a while, and would come back to her later, placing a single black rose beside her pillow, and putting one of the dragon maids to her care if she woke up before he returned. He headed to check on his boys, hoping that they didn’t question where he was or why he wasn’t comforting them as usual. _

…

…

…

“Master…”

Zarc woke up from his memory as he turned to Yuto nuzzling him, whining. “Master…” Yuto begged. 

Zarc’s smirk became sharper, enjoying the control he has over all his boys. “Yes Yuto,” he purred,” what do you wish Master to do?” He asked and playfully licked Yuto’s cheek, his thumb running over Yuto’s clothed nipple, teasing it, making Yuto whimper and arch his back.

Yuto looked at how his brothers were playing with Shun, seeing Shun writhe in ecstasy from each and every touch, particularly when Yugo was pressing that dark mark on the back of Shun’s neck. “I want to always stay like this...happy, yours, forever. I don’t...want to return to my old life.”

Zarc’s golden eyes shone, smirking. “You are mine, Yuto,” Zarc purred, “You are all mine, forever. You will always stay with Master, loyal only to me, loving me above all else.”

“Love you… above all else…” Yuto repeated, voice husky, smiling. “Yes…”

“I will erase all that made you sad, make sure you never ever shed a tear. You are a part of me and I will never _ ever _ let you go. I will never let you be free of me. You will _ never _be free.” 

“Never be free of you… never…”

Zarc licked his lips, his claws sneaking behind Yuto’s back and pressing between his shoulder blades between where his wings would be, making him scream in pleasure and arch his back. “But still, that was quite naughty of you to make your brothers suffer like that. You shouldn’t let anyone know of that little secret place of ours. If a human should learn of that spot...” Zarc frowned. “They could turn one of you into _ their _ doll.”

Yuto whimpered, and nodded, not completely sure at the moment what he had exposed. “‘M sorry,” he slurred his words as Zarc kept his claws pressed against the spot on his back, making small cute whimpers leave his lips.

“Never, ever do that again in public, Yuto,” Zarc said, doing his best to repress a memory from long ago, two figures that he had loved with all his heart arriving at his throne, sent to kill him. “Not you or any of your brothers.”

Yuto whimpered and nodded, sensing the displeasure, fear and hint of anger in Zarc’s voice. Zarc sensed this and nuzzled Yuto’s cheek.

“I know you’re a good boy, all of you are my good obedient boys,” he murmured. “But I want you safe. I can’t lose you...not again...not like I…”

He paused. Even after all those years that memory was still fresh in his mind. Losing his four darling boys when Ray unleashed those En Cards was bad enough, but losing _ those two _ still stung. They could never be brought back. No matter how hard he tried, how many spells he casted, those two could not come back. They slumbered in the darkness and who knows if they would ever awaken again.

Zarc trailed kisses down Yuto’s neck, fingers soothing the claw marks that now marred Yuto’s back. He growled in Yuto’s ear, pinching one of his nipples through the sheer fabric again, making Yuto squeal in delight.

“You look so pretty Yuto, you four dressed like this, part of my own pretty harem, to play with and tease and break. If only Yuri was here. I’d bet he would look perfect in a purple and pink outfit like the setting sun, with roses in his hair and a rose tucked in your hair too. We certainly must make up for Yuri’s lost time with us, shouldn’t we? I would adore looking at all four of you in such pretty outfits only for my eyes, my pleasure, no one else.”

“No one...else…” Yuto shuddered, momentarily staring at Shun who had stopped screaming and moaning. Instead he was being petted and purring as Yuya and Yugo ran their fingers down his back.

Zarc tilted Yuto’s head to him. “When you’re in my arms, you focus only on me Yuto, no one else, nothing else unless I say so.”

“Only you...no one else…” Yuto repeated.

“I’ve given Yugo a lot of love and comfort today, it seems like it’s your turn. I know you love your treasure so much, and I am quite proud of you knighting him, but you need to keep your affection for him private.”

“In private…” Yuto agreed with a nod.

“Good. Now, how about a sweet little reward, yes? Let me kiss you, my love.”

Zarc placed his lips on Yuto’s, filling Yuto with darkness and magic that would completely shatter the poor boy. 

Yuto’s body froze, eyes widen, screaming into the kiss, as his eyes roll to the back of his head, his mind and body kept being filled with Darkness and pleasure until Yuto couldn’t take anymore, and his mind broke, going completely slack in Zarc’s arms, a small trail of drool going down his chin with a dumb smile and unfocused eyes.

Zarc chuckled before he set Yuto down on the nest, smiling at how cute Yuto looked in his little outfit, before he went over to Yuya and did the same with him, pouring darkness and magic to break the little shooting star. Yuya squealed at the affection -- and Zarc could sense Yuya’s sadness, of wanting to feel Papa’s touch and kisses and hugs for real, not just the phantom ones -- pressing himself more and more, not wanting it to end.

He laid Yuya on the floor of the nest hovering over him, hand trailing up Yuya’s leg, bending down, running his tongue over one of Yuya’s clothed nipples, teasing him further. Yuya mewled, so happy that his Father was touching him like this. He needed this affection from Father; he had been without one for three years. 

“My shooting star,” Zarc purred, “It’s too bad I wont get to see you dance for me in an outfit like this, you look so pretty all dolled up for me. But I know that you’ll put on a great performance wherever you go. Even when things are looking tough, keep on smiling. But remember that you shouldn’t hide your feelings from others. And never try to hide them from me, I’ll always know.“ Zarc said, before sliding down Yuya’s body and playfully entering his tongue in Yuya’s belly button making Yuya squeal and squirm.

“Okay~” Yuya answered. “Master...I wanna be broken~”

Zarc chuckled. “My, my what a good boy for me,” he said, but kept teasing Yuya further with his fingers and tongue, loving how Yuya was at the brink of shattering.

“Master~” Yuya whined and whimpered, making Zarc chuckle.

“You look so _ adorable _ like this Yuya, so pretty and desperate, I love driving you boys to the brink, knowing that only _ I _ have this power over you.” 

“Only...only you,” Yuya said, gasping as more sparks of pleasure filled him but he still couldn’t shatter like Yuto. “Master, please I need you to break me~”

“My, my, that’s a tall offer…” Zarc said, absentmindedly twisting one of Yuya’s nipples. “What would you give me for such a mind-shattering release?” 

“Anything you desire, anything, anything please~” Yuya whined, arching his back to the touch. “Please oh please my master…”

“Hmm…” Zarc hummed. This was quite difficult; Yuya was solely his. No matter what Yoko believed, Yuya was his first. Still, it was good to reinforce this idea. “So you will obey me? Be mine forever?”

“Yes, yes, yours, forever yours. I will obey your every command.” Yuya answered automatically.

“No matter how twisted or cruel it may be?” Zarc smirked. “Because I’m just _ itching _ to let loose that dark side of you when we get to Synchro, cause a few fires, make people scream in terror, that sort of thing.”

“I will obey,” Yuya answered automatically, nodding his head.

Zarc smiled lazily. “Anything I desire is mine to take.”

“Anything,” Yuya answered breathlessly.

“And anything I ask of you, you do without hesitation. Because you love me, trust me, never ever doubt me. Don’t you?”

“Yes, anything you ask I’ll do, I love you, trust you, never doubt you.”

“Good boy,” Zarc purred. “Now, here’s your reward for being such a good obedient boy,” Zarc kissed Yuya, filling him with Darkness and pleasure like Yuto. It didn’t take much for Yuya’s mind to break, Yuya’s eyes rolling to the back of his head, mind completely shattered, but Zarc kept kissing him anyway, filling Yuya’s empty mind with darkness more and more.

Zarc finally broke the kiss with a wet _ pop _and licked his lips. Yuya was completely out of it, giggling and mumbling about fairies and dragons or the like. Zarc licked Yuya’s cheek and left him to his pretty broken fantasies.

“Yugo,” Zarc called. “Come to Master.”

Yugo stopped what he was doing -- licking Shun’s shoulder blade -- and approached Zarc with sleepy teal eyes. Zarc petted him. “Now how to play with you, Yugo~? Hmm my pretty boy...” Zarc purred and took Yugo to his lap, he started licking Yugo like a cat grooming her kitten, hands playing with Yugo’s body, teasing and caressing those sensitive parts, particularly his arms. He can’t help but poke them.

Yugo mewled and squealed. “Master~” 

Zarc cooed. “My gorgeous diamond in the rough. I am quite proud at how you fought off that malevolent serpent. Absorbing its powers into your own, making your wings sparkle magnificently.”

Yugo smiled. “I’m happy that you’re proud of me.”

“But now you need to learn how to tame that power."

"Tame it?" Yugo asked, tilting his head.

“Yes. The wind can be calm and gentle or strong, violent and erratic. You tend to become the latter. While that can be a good thing, left uncontrolled and it can cause you to be unable to think clearly. You need to be both: calm and strong.”

"Calm and strong…"

"That's correct," said Zarc, placing a wet kiss on his bite mark, making Yugo moan, a twisted smile forming on his face. In a few days time, Yugo would become the rightful ruler of the Synchro Dimension. He needed to give Yugo those dreams, those visions, make him the strong powerful ruler that will end the divisions of rich and poor, Tops and Commons, once and for all. “I’m quite surprised that you will be the first to be crowned a prince, become the ruler of your own kingdom. But I couldn’t be happier...don’t you agree?”

With a bit of his magic, Zarc placed his hands on either side of Yugo’s head. Yugo gasped as visions flooded his mind. Him seated on a throne, ruling over Neo-Domino. The Tops and Commons no longer separated, no longer at each other’s throats. Children from both sides playing together. People riding D-Wheels for fun, not for survival.

Him with Rin by his side, smiling, holding his hand, them together in their palace. 

_ You want this _ . Zarc’s voice echoed in Yugo’s sleepy mind. _ You want this. _

Yugo smiled. "I do, want it so much." 

_ No need to worry or be in fear, focus on your goal. No, your _ destiny _ . _

“My destiny…”

_ Yes. All four of my beautiful boys are destined to rule each of the dimensions. Can you see yourself defeating the current ‘king’ of the Friendship Cup, Jack Atlas? _ Zarc grinned. _ Better yet, can you see the great Jack Atlas serving _ you _ ? Him being a loyal knight to ensure that your reign is peaceful, without fights, without divisions, without any one foolish to go against your decrees. _

Yugo's eyebrow flew to his hairline, face slightly flushed. "Ser-serving me?”

Zarc chuckled. _ You admire this human, my shining crystal. And I know the real Jack Atlas. How he was once a servant to the legendary Crimson Dragon. Even if he doesn’t remember it, the dragon that served him to fight off against the Earthbound Immortals will recognize me, recognize _ you _ as the rightful heir to the throne. Jack Atlas will be my gift for you, my crystal. My love. _

“Your gift...to me?” 

Zarc frowned, a bit sad. _ You don’t like it? _

“No, no I adore it,” said Yugo in a hurry, face slightly flushed. “I’ve never in a million years even though I would have something like that. Jack Atlas, _ the _ Jack Atlas...my knight...”

_ Only the best for my children, my little hatchlings, my treasures… _Zarc whispered.

Yugo couldn’t help form an adoring smile on his face, nuzzling Zarc lovingly and purring, face still flushed. “Oh papa,” he pouted a bit. “How can we thank you for gifts like this?” 

_ By being mine, my loving sons. My beautiful, loyal and obedient sons. _Zarc answered.

Yugo smiled. “We are yours, always yours,” he started nuzzling Zarc again, “Your obedient loving boys.”

Zarc placed a kiss on Yugo’s forehead. “Now then, it’s time for another reward. I’ll shatter your mind and wrap you up in a nice sweet dream. Then you’ll be able to join your brother. I bet he’d love looking at you in your adorable outfit. Would you dance for your lovely lily, Yugo?”

Yugo squealed happily, nodding. “Dance for lily and Master too?” 

Zarc smirked. “Yes you will dance for me, my pretty harem boy. You and Yuya and Yuto and…” he stared at Shun, seeing the boy lying on his stomach, stiff as a board. He hadn’t been commanded to move, was oblivious to the fact there was no one touching him. He shuddered all the same, wanting pleasure. “Well, I won’t keep you waiting. Does my Yugo want me to shatter his mind like glass?” 

Yugo smiled cutely and nodded. “Yes Master, want it, want it please~” he begged. “Wanna feel good and happy~” 

Zarc couldn’t resist when his sons looked at him so sweetly, like kittens. Mewing and begging for their mother to lick them nice and clean and keep them warm. “Of course. Anything for you,” Zarc purred. Oh how he wished to bite his boys so much, fill them with his venom and watch them writhe in ecstasy and pleasure. But he would be patient, wait for his body to return, his kingdoms to be built. Then and only then will he truly shatter them, make his control on them ever-lasting. Yes, they had free will, they could still make decisions on their own, but they could never ever go against his word, his law, his control. 

“Shall I kiss you once more then?” Zarc whispered.

Yugo nodded his head, wanting to be happy, in peace, broken by his master. He whined and mewed, panting at the thought of having his master give him such adoration. 

Zarc licked his lips and pent down, lips merely touching Yugo teasingly making the boy whine, before Zarc’s lips locked on his firmly slipping his tongue inside Yugo’s the familiar feeling of Darkness filling him again, building the pleasure in his mind and body, his eyes roll to the back of his head as he shatters once more, and his body becomes boneless in Zarc’s arms 

Zarc turned Yugo around and licked his lips. “All right then. You’ve been such a pretty thing; I guess you deserve one more.”

He pressed his lips onto Yugo again, filling the boy’s mind with more visions of being a prince. Him in his white robes and crystal wings, with Rin in her black dress and a dark tiara on her head. Jack Atlas as his loyal knight, praising him as the true leader of the Synchro Dimension. Clear Wing and Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon by his side, protecting their beloved partner from harm.

Yugo let out a few adorable noises, squeaking and stretching out on the nest like a kitten rolling around happily. He wanted to hug his Father, his master, deepening the kiss. Instead he just let his body collapse and more and more of these visions swam in his mind like fish. So pretty pretty visions, he wanted them to be real. He wanted to be a mighty prince with a sword on his hip and his princess by his side. He wanted Jack Atlas to be his knight, he wanted to be a fair ruler, he wanted his father to be happy for him.

And above all, he wanted to be a proud and obedient son and treasure.

It felt like hours but it was only two or three minutes before Zarc ran his tongue across Yugo’s lips. Yugo giggled and clapped his hands -- or at least tried to, he looked more like he was pawing the air like a kitten -- as all he saw was lights and heard his father’s voice in his ear, whispering words of praise for his darling son, Prince of Synchro. 

Zarc licked his fangs as he rearranged his three boys in the nest and made them fall asleep into a shared dream, minds still broken and in the lovely trance they were in, their last brother would join them soon enough. With a few words and a bit of magic, he placed a hand on their foreheads, admiring the glazed look in their eyes, their flushed faces, their mouths open and drool trickling down onto the pillows, as he made sure the dream was complete and they would “Wake up” in an Arabian palace, ready to dance for their Master.

And with that, Zarc turned to the last one he needed to talk to.

He was still upset with Shun’s audacity to punch Yuri. Once was bad enough, but multiple times would’ve had Shun’s heart ripped out of his chest. First. Hmm, what should he do with the boy now? --He took another glance at the three other boys in the nest-- Shun was Yuto’s treasure, his toy, his knight, his doll. Whatever Yuto commanded, Shun would obey. Of course, Shun was still a bit reluctant -- for he was unused to being affectionate and had spent the last few weeks struggling to survive -- but no matter. If Shun was given a command, he would obey it.

Besides, it had been a while since Zarc used his powers on someone other than his sons. Yuto did a good job breaking Shun, marking him, making the boy embrace the darkness.

Zarc looked down at Shun and ran a finger down Shun’s neck, causing the boy to sigh. Then he smirked as he pressed Yuto’s mark, making Shun moan and arch his back.. 

“Look at me, little bird,” Zarc said, pressing his forehead onto Shun’s. “Look at me.”

Shun did, his gold eyes staring back at Zarc’s own. But these eyes...they were brighter, fuller, They pulsed with light that he had not seen in so long. He whimpered, feeling unworthy to stare into such beauty. He could feel a voice in his mind, echoing and pulsing in the vast space as he heard his master speak to him, commanding him.

As Zarc peered through Shun’s mind, he stopped. It was a glimpse, but Shun apparently saw someone in a cloak and a white military outfit. Shun couldn’t see what they looked like…

But that voice...that voice was so familiar. Could it be?

Zarc closed his eyes, contacting Yuri through the mental link. He needed to ask Yuri, just be sure. If that person was who he thought he was…

Minutes later, Yuri’s shocked voice gave him the answer to that question. The person Shun saw was his silver phoenix, Aster.

Aster. Aster is in Heartland. It made Zarc so happy, he could have his beloved Silver Phoenix back. But he has to make sure, he’ll have to ask Yuri later about what happened. Aster was such a beautiful boy with silver phoenix wings, the mediator between the forces of light and darkness. But the boy was _ his _, his treasure, just as beautiful and powerful as his sons. 

He will have to to see for himself later, right now, he has another pretty bird in his arms to tend to. Zarc licked his lips, everything was going his way..

“Shun~” Zarc cooed. “Do you love being in this state of trance? Be honest with me. Do you like being a mindless doll? To be played with, to be broken over and over again? To have your mind wiped clean of any and all impure thoughts? To have someone love and control you so sweetly?”

“Yes I like being in this state,” Shun answered breathlessly with a soft smile. “It makes me feel so relaxed and calm, free of guilt and worry, filled with pleasure and love. I...don’t want to remember those dark days...where I felt like there was no hope...no happiness...my life would be filled with vengeance and hate...”

“Those feelings aren’t necessarily _ bad _,” Zarc pointed out. “I, too, want revenge on the people who caused my sons so much misery. But you have to be careful. You let yourself become so full of this goal of anger and retribution that you closed yourself off. Was it worth it?” 

“I… no… I hurt a lot of people to be where I am… I wanted… I wanted to get revenge, and every… every Fusion duelist was the enemy to me…” 

“Just like how Serena thought every Xyz Duelist she saw was a fugitive.” Zarc surmised. “The two of you are very similar in a sense. And while I do understand your anger, you did harm one of my precious boys. That simply will not do.”

“I am sorry…” Shun said, and he meant it. 

“I know you are, but you are still not forgiven, little bird. You are commanded to not lay a finger like that on any of my sons again, little bird. Understand? ”

Shun tilted his head. When Zarc called him that, he felt at ease. Little bird...something that is loved, protected, who sang sweetly and made others happy. “Yes,” Shun answered.

“And you will make up for it. Instead of a punishment, you will be tasked to defeat the traitor. Expose him for the spy that he really is; make him _ squirm _. He was the one who ruined your life, the reason your sister was taken away, the reason your city is in shambles.” 

“Yes… I will…” 

“Good, little bird,” Zarc said with a smile. He patted Shun on the head and watched a smile form on Shun’s face. “You like being a bird in its beautiful cage. In it is everything you ever want. You don’t want to leave it, why should you? And all you have to do is serve me and my family.”

“I don’t want to leave it… Serve you and your family,” Shun had a small soft smile on his face. “Bird in cage...little bird…”

“Yes you are such a pretty little bird. Perhaps you can be a nice companion to our silver phoenix when the time is right.”

Shun tilted his head. “Silver...Phoenix…?”

“Yes another boy of mine,” Zarc explained running the back of his hand on Shun’s cheek. “Long ago, one of my knights found him all alone at the outskirts of my castle, poor thing all sad and weak and tired. So I took him in, raised him as one of my own. He was beautiful and brilliant, and at the moment I’m sure, I’m quite sure I found him once more, and soon enough, he will be mine once more. At his full power, his wings are made of purest silver, each feather dipped with magic. I took him, placed him under my love and control. He was most likely reincarnated as a human, but once he is in my arms once more, he will be reborn. My beautiful silver phoenix, my treasure, my love. All mine, mine and no one can have him again. ” 

Shun shuddered slightly at the idea of being coveted and pretty and a treasure.

“I do wonder what he looks like now, he certainly must have grown,” Zarc sighed and turned back to Shun. “You must rest now. Putting you into this deep a trance without rest can tire you out. Would you like to join this shared dream I’ve put on my sons?” 

“Yes...I’d love to Master, please.”

“Very well then,” Zarc said, weaving his spell. “Oh and to make sure you come back to me. I’m gonna shatter your mind. You’ll remember this feeling when you wake up and you’ll want to be shattered over and over again, begging me to break you and control you.” 

“Master…?” Shun said, slightly uncertain. 

Zarc smirked and placed his lips on Shun’s. Shun gasped, feeling currents of power in his body and Zarc’s voice in his mind, becoming one. His body shook in pleasure as it built inside of him, becoming overwhelming to his senses, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body spasmed as his mind broke but Zarc’s words still echoed in his mind.

_ Mine, my lovely treasure, my obedient little bird…singing in its little cage, never wanting to be free. Happy to serve me... _

Shun shuddered again, panting, eyes unfocused. “Yours…” he whispered, voice trembling. “Yours…”

“Good little bird,” Zarc purred, kissed Shun one more time on the lips, before lying him down next to Yuto. The four looked so cute in their outfits, but he couldn’t have them wearing those clothes in the morning. Ah well, he’ll be seeing them dress like that in their dreams soon enough.

  
  


**************

The two girls headed to the guest room got comfortable on the bed, and just laid there, not saying anything. It had been a really long day and neither of them were in the mood for stories or talk.

Serena was the one who felt the worst though. She hurt Yuzu. Yuzu wasn’t like all of those jerkass Academia students who couldn’t take a hint that she didn’t want to play their little games. The pink-haired girl didn’t belittle her at all, didn’t tell er to stay in place, didn’t call her names of any sorts.

Yuzu wanted to be her friend, took her in, became her sister. She respected Serena, took Serena in when no one else wanted her, accepted the Academia girl’s naivete in strides and never looked down at her. Yuzu believed in her, believed that she was on their side and in her dueling powers.

And how did Serena respond to all of this unconditional love and kindness? By slapping Yuzu across the face.

And she couldn’t prevent Yuzu from finding out about Ray and Lord Zarc, she couldn’t even know what Ray had told Yuzu about Lord Zarc. Serena was so guilty about it. Ganted Lord Zarc and Ray had a truce now, but she still couldn’t do anything about it. 

“Hey,” Yuzu called to her. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m...I’m sorry, Yuzu,” Serena said, back facing Yuzu’s.

“Sorry? About what?” 

“I’m sorry I kept Lord Zarc secret from you, I’m sorry for how I kept the truth about Professor Akaba secret, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Yuya’s past and...and I’m sorry for slapping you. I just...I panicked ...and I didn’t know what to do,” Serena’s body was shaking, she was sobbing. “You didn’t deserve any of that. You deserve the truth.”

Yuzu came closer to Serena and hugged her. “I understand, I’m not happy that so many things were hidden from me, but...most of these things weren’t your secret to tell, I understand that now, I’m sorry I prodded so much, I just...I just wanted to know, I wanted to know that you’re okay, that you’re safe too. I just wanted to help, not stand on the sidelines like a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued.”. 

Serena turned around and hugged Yuzu closer. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...” Serena sobbed to Yuzu, and the pink haired girl patted her back until Serena calmed down. 

“Hey, what’s with the tattoo on your arm though?” Yuzu asked 

“Oh this?” Serena asked, showing her wrist. “When Lord Zarc cut my ties with Ray, he broke the bracelet too, since it was part of what tied me to her, in exchange he gave me powers, and the tattoo is the mark for the deal,” she explained.

Yuzu raised her eyebrow. “Zarc can...give you power?”

“And dragons,” Serena said, recalling Blood Moon Fusion Dragon. “Blood Moon was actually a gift from him,” she explained before looking at Yuzu’s face. “Is...something wrong?”

“Well, since you were blessed with these powers. I wonder...would Zarc...give me powers too?” Yuzu asked.

Serena spluttered. “I’m...well, I think so but… I’m not sure he can freely give them to you, there has to be some sort of deal or something....uh..you know, what Simone and Lena did with the Cat God...”

“Wait, I’m going to become some half-dragon girl?”

“What?! Yuzu, please don’t devour people’s souls if you do that! I don’t wanna deal with a real-life zombie attack!”

Yuzu laughed. “Relax, I’m joking. But I still don’t understand what kind of deal I could make with Zarc, or the powers I’d want...I mean, if I had a power, I guess I’d be a healer. But I do need something to defend myself with, right? ” 

“Right. What would you want?”

“What Diana had. She used her bracers to defend herself yet create a powerful shockwave. I may be into action films, but I myself am not a violent type.”

“Not even when you hit people with that paper fan of yours?”

“That’s different. I don’t seek out fights just because I can. Rather, I only get into a fight to protect those I care about.”

“Well, maybe Lord Zarc will have something in mind for you,” Serena said. 

“Umm...How do I meet him? Do I just ask Yuya?”

“I guess… he kinda came to me himself. So I don’t know how to contact him, but I think his sons can let you talk to him.”

“No, not just his sons. It has to be Yuya.”

“Huh? Why Yuya?”

“Zarc was possessing Yuya in order to speak to Ray, right?”

“Well yeah…” she nodded.

“Then I have to ask Yuya to talk to Zarc. I mean, I could ask Yuto or Yugo but…”

“But…?”

Yuzu sighed. “Yuya’s been my friend growing up. And now he’s remembered his true self and everything. I think he’s scared of telling all of this to me...just like how I was scared about mentioning Yuto to him. I want us to trust each other again...I don’t want us to just drift apart because of things we didn’t say.”

“We’ll I’m sure that’s not gonna happen but...You can just talk to him right?”

“Yeah, but…”

“So it’s that simple. Tomorrow at breakfast, go to him and tell him that you want to help him and Lord Zarc out.”

“But wait, what about Reiji? I mean, technically this kinda evolves since his half-sister, I think, is with us.” 

“Well I guess that’s between them,” Serena said. “But knowing Reiji, he’d probably be probing in too deep and...could you imagine what happens if he learns of an ancient dragon king that once terrorized the original world?”

“That might not end well. Reiji does have a sense of justice, but remember what dad said? He’s a kid too; he’s just two years older than us. He doesn’t have all the answers, but so far he’s the strongest duelist we have and we immediately look to him for answers. Maybe we should let the adults handle that.”

“What adults?” asked Serena. “No adult is coming with us.”

“Yoko-san is, remember? So is Zarc, and probably Ray, even if Reiji doesn’t know about Ray and Zarc, maybe it’s best to listen to them if they don’t agree with Reiji about something. I mean, one of them is like a ten thousand year old Dragon King, right? Come to think of it, I think Yoko shouldn’t be near Reiji.”

“What do you mean?” Serena asked.

“Dad told us how upset he was about learning of Yusho-san’s disappearance being Reiji’s fault on the way here. And how Yoko was furious as to what Yusho did too. She might not let things go, and question Reiji on everything, if not outright hate him. Our team really doesn’t have that good of a synergy within it.” 

“Yeah, you might be right. Ha. If there’s one thing Academia is good at is working as a team.” 

“Shingo is going to be a handful, we barely know anything about Tsukikage or Dennis...Gongenzaka doesn’t know anything about this either.”

Serena groaned. “Man, this was a poorly thought out plan. Not to mention that stupid Intrusion penalty (not that I didn’t mind seeing Shingo electrocuted like that).”

“Well, the point in Synchro is to get more allies, let’s just hope no Academia students come knocking. I mean, given what Yugo mentioned about the dimension, we’ll probably be lucky if we don’t get hauled to ‘the Facility’ for spouting out such crazy nonsense.” 

Serena nodded her head. “Say, Yuzu?”

“Yeah?”

Serena smiled, her cheeks red as she said, “Yuzu...I’m so glad that you’re part of my _ ohana _.”

Yuzu’s eyes widened for a split second before she smiled widely and hugged Serena. “I’m glad that you’re a part of my _ ohana _too.”

And soon, the Hiragi sisters fell fast asleep in each other’s arms.

If Shuzo was here, he would’ve smiled to himself, wiped a few tears in his eyes and quietly closed the door behind him.

Instead, he was at home, preparing a proper farewell gift for his two daughters, praying with all of his heart that the two would be safe for the journey ahead.

**************

Zarc went back to his bedchamber with Ray still asleep, still naked in his bed, covered in the silken sheets, her hair spread around her like fire. Zarc chuckled, perhaps he exhausted her more than he thought. 

He knelt on the bed and placed a dark kiss on her lips. She moaned and leaned to the kiss. Her eyes flutter open and smile at Zarc, sweetly and seductively.

“My king,” she whispered hoarsely, and Zarc smirked as he licked the bite mark on Ray’s neck making her moan happily and thread her hand in Zarc’s hair pressing him to her neck more. “Zarc, my love.” 

“More?” he whispered.

“More, my love.” 

With a snap of his fingers he was rid of his clothes, removing the sheets from Ray and with another kiss to her lips he entered her, making her moan and arch her back, painting with a smile on her face. The next few seconds were filled with her screams and cries as Zark growled in her ear, husky, deep, seductive, everything a king of darkness should be.

With Zarc biting her neck, Ray came with a scream, mind shattering and Zarc released inside of her. 

“Now then, how about a warm bath?” he asked and Ray nodded, still riding the afterglow of their consummation after what felt like forever. Zarc covered her in a robe and held her to him as they moved to the baths, already prepared by one of the dragon maids. The two of them entered the tub, relaxing themselves in the warmed water as Zarc immediately gathered soaps to clean themselves. Ray found a bowl of water by the bath to help her wash her face.

As soon as Ray was finished removing that last smudge of eyeshadow, Zarc kissed her lips once more. “I promised you a gift.”

Ray giggled. “You promise one single gift and you give me several each more precious than the first.”

“I like spoiling my treasure,” he purred. “I would gift you an entire constellation or four if it meant showing how much I cared for you.” 

Ray smiled softly and kissed him again. “You’re too much,” she said fondly. “Soon I’ll start feeling like I’m hardly worthy of you, more than I already am anyway.”

“Hush now, I can give you gifts so I will because I want to. You’re my queen now, anything you desire shall be yours for the taking. Now I have two presents for you,” he said, “Come,” he said placing the bathrobe over her again and carrying her bridal style back to his bedchambers. Ray shivered, but not from the cold.

He sat down on the bed, leaning against the pillows with Ray in his lap. By his side were two jewelry boxes. He took one into his hand, one that could easily fit his palm, and presented it to Ray, she opened it to find a pair of gorgeous earrings, a dragon with a pink jewel for its eyes. 

“Oh...they’re _ beautiful _,” she gasped. 

“They’re imbued with power, my own.” Zarc smiled. “Usually to attain power from darkness you need to make a contract, or obtain certain payment for power. And usually, when the power comes from the darkness itself it would cost souls or sanity, sometimes both. But since I’m your conduit, and you my sweet, are soon to be my queen, the power is yours.” 

“Without any strings attached?” asked Ray, not sure if she wanted to take an earring into her hand. 

“You can’t use the power against me or my children,” he answered placing a kiss on her neck

“I wouldn’t,” Ray whispered. “I’m sorry about what happened. It must’ve been painful, hearing your...sons...scream and beg for you to help them and you couldn’t do anything. That was probably what my father was thinking as he saw me face you head on.”

“Let’s forget all about that then, shall we? As I said, they’re yours, as you are mine. Take them.” 

Ray nodded a few seconds later, putting the earrings on, the gems glowed for a split second, the same glow shined in Ray’s eyes before she blinked and smiled. “How do I look?” she asked playfully. 

Zarc chuckled. “Magnificent. An earring is nothing without its mate, after all. They’re quite the pair, just like us. Don’t you think?” 

Ray laughed, nuzzling him, and placing a kiss on his cheek and one on his lips. “I suppose we are.” 

“Now then, on to your second present,” Zarc grabbed the other and Ray immediately knew just what was inside it. “I want you to be my queen, and I want you to have everything you could ever dream of, anything you desire, as my wife.” 

Zarc opened the jewelry box; inside was a ring, black jewels cut like a rose, with a white pearl inside it. Ray gasped, even now she couldn’t believe the things Zarc would give her. She placed her hand over her heart.

“What do you think? Do you like it?” Zarc asked. 

“Oh Zarc… Zarc, love, it’s so beautiful, so perfect, “ Ray said, tears in her eyes. She did want to marry Zarc back when they first met, wanted to be such a perfect family and raise such adorable sweet four little boys. That part of her that wanted to be Zarc’s wife was still part of her though, despite the terrors and horror stories she read. She turned around hugging Zarc, burying her head in his neck. Zarc hugged her back, placing a kiss on her cheek.

She sat back, and placed her hand over Zarc’s extended one, as he delicately slipped the ring on her finger. It felt alive like it would grow vines and wrap around her hand, up her wrist, crawl up her arm and stay there. 

Ray hugged Zarc again, kissing his lips and rested her head on his shoulder snuggling to him. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too, my sweet little lamb.”

A while later, Zarc placed a kiss on the top of her head. “We need to go check on the children. Big day today. The last one before we enter the Synchro Dimension, and you’ll be able to have a good look at your siblings!” 

Ray smiled and nodded. “Hopefully my parents didn’t screw them up too much,” she mumbled. “I’m excited to see them, but given where they are in life, I just hope they’re both actually okay.” 

Zarc snorted. “Highly doubt it. Reiji probably looks like he’s never learned to smile and his ‘sister’ seems to be afraid of the monsters underneath her bed. Oh and their mother, Himika, ah that black-hearted _ witch _. I gave her a good scare, don’t you worry.”

Ray shook her head. “I see, but, is there a way for me to...have a body again? In the other dimensions?” 

“Once I return, I shall give you one,” Zarc promised, kissing her hand. With a snap of his fingers the two were draped in new garments woven by the darkness. “But if you do have a body, it will be hard to explain how you came around and why your face is so similar to the two Lancer sisters.”

“I could always hide and have a mask on,” she told him.

“Hm...That is true. Well, until the truth can be told anyway,” he said. Ray smiled and kissed him again. 

“Can’t wait. And uh...how are we gonna tell your sons that I’m...yours again now?” 

Zarc smiles. “Just leave that to me. Now…” he sat up and extended his hand out to Ray. “Shall we go then? Into the mystery…”

She nodded, smiled at him, took his hand into her own and they both left. 


	17. Chapter 9 (Part 1): Irresistible Force.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoko face off against the immovable objects that are Gongenzaka's Superheavy Samurai Synchros and the Supreme King of Darkness.
> 
> (And a very familiar face comes in that changes everything)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we! Are! back!
> 
> What's up you guys! We're back with Chapter 9 Part 1 and we hope you like this!
> 
> So before this GPQ and I wrote Down to Wonderland, a Fantasy AU please check it if you are curious. 
> 
> Now Chapter 9 is going to be short...Shorter than 8, However Chapter 10 will have a really big surprise and introductions so stay tuned. 
> 
> Part 2 is already written, if this Chapter gets 5 comments or 3 comments with one long comment I shall post part 2 as soon as possible. 
> 
> We hope you enjoy this! And have a great day everyone! I hope you're all safe and Healthy and if not I hope you get better soon <3 
> 
> So warning, this chapter has two OC characters that will become prevalent in the story. I usually don't Like OCs, and I don't dip my hands in it, they originally had a different back Story but GPQ convinced me to go with this one, we hope you like it.
> 
> (GPQ: Also, I am pointing out that Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo is using its anime effect. Unless otherwise noted, all cards in the fanfic will use their real-life effects)

Mieru Hochun had a...difficult time sleeping last night.

After she explained to her parents why she slipped out of the house so early in the morning yesterday (already grounded after she went off to search for Yuya during the Battle Royale) she needed to make some tarot readings, specifically for what would happen to Yuya and his…’family’.

In her bedroom, at the corner where a large purple curtain draped it,were five cards arranged in a single line in front of her, one for each dimension, and a final one, for the future. She stared intently at the five of them, a bead of sweat fell down. 

She extended her hand forwards and placed it carefully on the first card and flipped it over. It showed a young boy riding a chariot with two sphinxes -- one black and one white -- strapped to it.

“The Chariot,” she whispered to herself. Rightside up. Victory, ambitions, determination. Yes, Standard would need all of that to stop Academia. But that’s what’s coming in the immediate future.

The next one was the Five of Cups, upside down, showing a cloaked figure in mourning, five golden goblets at their feet. In the background was a castle and a bridge with a river flowing underneath it. The card was upside down. When inverted, the Five of Cups meant forgiveness, letting go of sorrow, moving on and overcoming despair. What exactly did Yuya need to forgive and let go of? And if not Yuya, then who was it talking about?

The third one was the King of Swords, upright. A king in a blue tunic and a golden crown on his head seated on his throne. right side up once more. Authority and truth. Given what Academia has been fed for years, it’s about time reality kicked in.

The fourth was Judgement -- also upright -- but that was very obvious. Academia was going to pay for their crimes sooner or later.

And the fifth was finally the Ten of Cups right side up, showing a happy couple with children by their side and ten golden cups above their head like an arc. A happy ending, true love conquers all. Academia and Akaba’s plans are ruined, the dimensions are in peace.

Mieru sighed. In hindsight, losing to Tsukikage was actually a blessing. She is not a fighter and her use of fortune-telling would make her a target by the bad guys. She’s a good psychic, but not as good a duelist as she’d like to be.

But things are rarely cut and dry especially in tarot card readings; even though things are known there might be hidden things unknown to her. Yet she wondered what they could be, and hoped she didn’t read the cards wrongly or took the wrong meaning from each. 

Mieru began to gather her cards and shuffled the deck. But just as she was about to slip them into their special silk pouch, a card slipped out and fell onto the floor.

“Hmm?” Mieru said, picking the card up. It showed a knight in armor and a yellow tunic riding a chestnut colored horse. In his right hand was a large oak wand. “The Knight of Wands. A fearless hero, energetic, brave, craves adventure...I wonder…”

Mieru placed the card down and concentrated on her crystal apple. From within her soul, she asked it a question: _ Who is coming? _

The apple began to glow within the space in her bedroom designed for fortune-telling. And Mieru watched as it revealed a figure in black armor and golden eyes.

A part of Mieru wanted to be questioning how or why the apple showed her this, but then looked at her Knight of Wands -- the fearless traveler, courageous, spirited. Perhaps this figure is like her Yuya. After all, she remembered how he fought Kachidoki; he was all smiles and sunshine but there was this mischievous side to him as he cooed over that horrifying yet adorable black dragon.

And yesterday she saw an orange and green light, along with a person approaching. So the person, this hero, the black knight, is coming. Victorious, determined, ambitious. 

Mieru would trust her instincts, trust her cards. Except for her prediction that Yuya would be in trouble if he continued dueling her, she hadn’t been wrong yet. Besides, there’s nothing else she can do besides wait…

And think about those adorable boys she saw yesterday!

Mieru’s heart was fluttering in her chest as she saw them in her mind: Raphael, Valon and Alister along with Yugi and Atem! Ooh, the trauma and suffering they went through in their past lives. To think her Yuya knew such pretty boys made her heart swoon!

At that, she paused. The Orichalcos was just _ one _ threat from the past? How many were there in total? How many times has the world been in absolute danger?

Mieru knew that she couldn’t answer that, and particularly didn’t want to _ know _. There were already too many other things to worry about: invaders from different dimensions, people that had faces similar to Yuya and Yuzu, and things that were just so….

Mieru groaned as she pulled out her Duel Disk and began to text something. She may be grounded, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t message Yuya about her predictions and warnings. Besides, he -- or that _ other _ Father of his -- would probably be able to make more sense of things.

Ten minutes later, the text was done. Mieru sighed before wrapping her crystal apple in its purple strip of cloth and then going back to bed. She laid down and looked up at the ceiling, hands over her chest.

“I wonder…” Mieru thought to herself. “Does this strange knight have any business with Yuya?”

***************

As sunlight gently caressed his face, Yuya woke up and stretched. He was between Yugo and Yuto, with Shun asleep on Yuto’s left, a blanket covered them, and the three of them wore their own pajamas, Yuya blinked feeling sweaty and sticky for some reason, he didn’t remember anything past...Past Father coming in to see them playing a game with Shun and Yuto. 

Yuya blushed at that. Oh yeah, making Shun and Yuto dance for Yugo and him. 

Yuya shivered at the memory and the fun they had. Then, not sure why he did it, he was unthinkingly climbing over Yuto, looking at his pretty sleepy face, and kissing him.

Yuto’s eyes suddenly opened feeling Yuya’s lips over his own. Moving softly, he shivered, his hand trailing up Yuya’s back and tangling with his hair pulling Yuya closer to him, closing his eyes again, enjoying the kiss. Yuya purred, loving to finally give his brother this affection instead of Yuto always going out to cuddle and snuggle Shun all the time.

Yuto’s claws grew a bit as he ran them through Yuya’s hair, hearing his little brother purr so sweetly. He opened his lips, his tongue extended, shyly licking Yuya’s lips before Yuya broke the kiss, and they sighed. Yuya’s crimson eyes looked so beautiful like the roses in their old garden, dark red like hearts filled with love and excitement for those he cares about and filled with anger and fear for those who underestimated him.

“Shall we wake up our gentle mist?” Yuya whispered against Yuto’s lips, before turning to Yugo, still snoring, mouth open and drooling on his pillow.

Yuto felt a strange sensation in the back of his head at that nickname, like a memory he had long forgotten. He blinked it away and nodded his head before he looked at Yugo rolling around.

“Of course...after all, he has to pay for what he did to me last night.” Yuto smirked. _ You _both _do._

Yuya narrowed his eyes at that remark. _ Excuse me, Raindrop, but who was the one who decided to use _ that _ spot on me in public? After I tried asking why Shun was ravishing you on the asphalt? _

Yuto groaned softly. _ I suppose you have a point, _ he said before placing several kisses on Yuya’s cheek. _ So? How do we wanna wake big brother up, hmm? _

“Hmm…” Suddenly, an image appeared in Yuya’s mind and he smirked. He approached Yugo, lifting the boy’s shirt to expose his navel and dipped his tongue into it.

“Oh, I see…” Yuto said, grabbing Yugo’s hands as shadows swirled around his body and his dragon tail appeared, ready to wrap around Yugo’s waist.

“Ghh...what’s going on?” Yugo asked, eyes snapping open and arching his back before whining when he couldn’t move much. 

“Is your mind fogged with dreams, Yugo?” Yuto whispered in his ear, the tip of his tail caressing Yugo’s back.

Yugo shivered at the phrase and automatically replied with, “Not any longer since I see these pretty raindrops in front of me.” Yugo tilted his head up and gave Yuto a small peck on his lips. “Now let me go, Raindrop,” he added sweetly, pouting at the both of them. 

Yuya shivered but still was licking Yugo’s navel. “Not yet. Perhaps you’re still lost in a _ haze _.”

“You always look so pretty restrained by my shadows, big brother,” Yuto whispered. “As if fumbling around in a storm, waiting for the tempest to strike and crash down on you.”

“We just wanna make sure you’re fully _ awake,” _Yuya whispered, rising up and nipping on Yugo’s neck.

“Or not,” Yuto said, tilting Yugo’s head to look into his glowing eyes.

Yugo’s eyes widened, falling for that trick every time from his baby brother, but he can’t look away. The lavender glow was so breathtaking.

Yugo gasped softly, breath shaking. “_ Stormfall…” _

Yuya and Yuto shuddered at the nickname, feeling so...loved when Yugo said it. Yuya kissed Yugo’s lips and Yuto trailed his lips down Yugo’s neck before moving to whisper in his ear.

“Praise us,” Yuto commanded softly. “We wanna hear your sweet voice telling us how much you love us, how much you want us, sweet mist.” he moved back to make Yugo look into his eyes. 

Yugo moaned, still looking into Yuto’s eyes. “Of course, my raindrops. Precious to me, signaling hope to barren lands, relief from a scorching heat that cannot leave.”

“Big brother will do anything for us, won’t he? Love us sweetly, adore us,” Yuya whispered in Yugo’s ear. “And we will wrap you up in soothing darkness to shield you from pain.”

Yuto smirked. “Your Knight of Darkness,” he whispered to Yugo’s lips.

Yugo mewled and purred at the praise, feeling the love and control, the devotion, his foggy mind recalling _ him _, a person that shielded him with a brilliant parasol against the sun’s harsh rays.

Yuya and Yuto kissed both sides of his neck, making him gasp and shiver and moan. They saw their brother in the garden, taking care of the beloved plants and forming pretty bouquets for them. Their eyes and smile were so mesmerizing and their kiss made them shiver in delight.

As this went on, Zarc felt his heart stop at the familiar actions, it...couldn’t be. The names, the good morning greetings...No that...that couldn't be happening. There’s no possible way that they could return...

“BOYS!” Yoko’s voice rang from downstairs. “BREAKFAST!” 

Yuya and Yuto’s backs went stiff, before they rose slowly shaking their heads to clear them, making Yugo whine at the loss of contact. Zarc sighed in relief, glad that Yoko had interrupted the boys. Zarc had been frozen, too shocked to do anything but watch what he had been seeing, afraid that this was all some dream.

Yuto freed Yugo and woke him up from the trance he was under before glancing to his side and looking at Shun before crawling to his side.

“Shun~” Yuto purred, kissing the older boy’s lips, making Shun moan as he opened his eyes. “Breakfast is ready my love, get some clothes on.” 

Shun blinked as he sat up...and noticed that Yuto was right. With his face bright red, he began scrambling to find something to wear...except smelling his coat made him realize that it probably didn’t sound right to smell like he had been covered in smoke the night before. And he didn’t have any other clothes on him...

“W-Wha happened?” Yugo slurred in a daze.

“Mom called us for breakfast,” Yuya told him. “Now come on. It’s probably the last time we’ll have kaa-san’s pancakes for a long time.”

“Ah!” Yugo said, tossing the bedsheets aside. “Gotta hurry before -- “

“Hold on,” said Yuto, going to their discarded clothes. He picked up Yugo’s dress blouse and sniffed it. “Ugh, smoke. You can’t go down until we clean up.”

“I need a shower, I feel so sticky right now,” Yuya said, wondering what happened last night.

“Ah, but I want pancakes!” Yugo whined. 

“Mom will make more, don’t worry," Yuya said.

“Should we take turns?” Yugo asked. 

“Maybe it’s better two at a time, as long as we don’t play,” Yuto said. Shun turned red at that; bad enough that Yoko saw him and Yuto making out on the couch. Last thing she needs is the two in the shower...playing...

“I’ll hold you to that one; you seem to be the one with no self control,” Yugo said. 

“Hey! I have self control. I just chose not to implement it,” Yuto said, narrowing his eyes. 

“If you say so~” Yugo teased

“Just in case, Yuto and I are going first,” Yuya said, dragging Yuto off with a whine.

The two of them entered the shower while Shun and Yugo waited in the room, Shun’s face a little flushed, and looking away awkwardly. 

“What’s wrong?” Yugo asked.

“It’s just…” Shun sighed. “My sister and I both have feelings for Yuto, but I stepped down so Ruri could be happy. I miss her...and now I’m being…used...I succumbed to the pleasure, have been marked by Yuto. I don’t know how I’m going to confess this to her when I see her again. I miss her, but I’m also afraid of what she’ll think of me.”

“Dragons are greedy, we want everything for ourselves and we don’t let go of treasures at all. You and Ruri both love Yuto and Yuto loves you both, he’s not just gonna choose one of you, especially now that he’s back to his original instincts to hoard what’s his,” Yugo replied. 

Shun looked back at Yugo with uncertainty in his eyes. “Are you and your sister that unwilling to share?” Yugo asked. 

Shun swallowed. “No, not that but...I didn’t want to get in the way of that. I could see how much Yuto meant to her and...I’m being selfish. I’m her big brother, supposed to take care of her...especially since our parents…”

“They were carded, weren’t they?”

“Or killed by the monsters. Who knows? We haven’t heard from them since the invasion started…”

“I don’t see the problem,” Yugo said. “You both love Yuto, and Yuto loves both of you. You make each other happy, you both want him, and he wants both of you, seems pretty easy to me. If you’re scared of her reaction, just let Yuto handle it,” Yugo said with a shrug.

“What do you mean let Yuto handle it? You just want him to --”

“No, no, I didn’t mean let Yuto wipe her mind or anything!” Yugo said, realizing what Shun was getting at. “I mean at this point, Father has already explained the situation to her. But I think she’s quite understanding of it all; you and Yuto lost so much so of course you’d want to be together. And if she already knows that you love Yuto then problem’s solved. To her, both of you are two of the most important people in her life. Her treasures.”

“Don’t worry about it, you can all talk when you’re reunited togather, I promise it’ll be okay,” Yugo said.

“Thank you…” said Shun. He was still trying to remember what happened last night. Everything was a blur.

…

…

…

Yuto and Yuya had entered the bathtub and turned the shower onto the hottest setting. It would have been scathing for anyone else, but the temperature felt so good on the bodies of both dragon boys. Plus, it was the first hot shower in such a long time.

“Mmm….” Yuto purred. “Warm water really is relaxing…”

The two of them cleaned themselves quickly, but enjoyed the hot water. Yuya came from behind Yuto and wrapped his arms around his waist. 

“I thought we weren’t gonna play,” Yuto said teasingly, but Yuya didn’t answer, instead biting Yuto’s shoulder, making the other boy gasp and smile sleepily in Yuya’s arms as the younger boy licked the wound. 

“I liked yesterday,” Yuya whispered. “I liked us playing with you, it seems like you’ve been going with Shun a lot.” 

“Yuya, it was only one night. I spent it alone with Shun, and you and Yugo were together.”

“I know,” Yuya whined. “I guess I am a little selfish because you haven’t paid so much attention to us lately~”

Yuto tilted his head and gave Yuya a small pick on his lips, and nuzzled their cheeks together. “Come ‘er,” he said softly, turning around fully and pulling Yuya to him and biting him. Yuya mewled, hugging Yuto to him, sighing happily. 

The shower was brief -- for they knew that they couldn’t play long and they didn’t want to use up all the hot water for themselves -- as they quickly lathered shampoon and shower gel onto each other's bodies like they did back in their old lives.

“Yeah, we really have to hurry,” Yuto said, giving Yuya another kiss. “I don’t think Yoko Kaa-san, Yuzu and Serena will wait that long, come on,” he said, turning the water off and grabbing two towels giving one of them to Yuya. They dried themselves and wrapped the towels around their waist before heading back to their room, seeing Shun and Yugo patiently waiting. 

“Bathroom’s free, hurry up,” Yuto said with a smile. 

Yugo noticed the bite marks on each boy’s shoulder but didn’t comment on it, and he and Shun headed to the shower. As the two showered, Yuya and Yuto were quickly getting dressed for the day, Yuya in his normal clothes and Yuto the orange T-shirt, green pants and his old school jacket worn as a cape, the collar his mother bought him with rubies and emeralds and his goggles. 

Yuto wore his usual light green T-shirt, long black skin tight pants, his own tattered black jacket as a cape (Yoko asked if she could buy him a new one, but he refused), and a spiked collar around his neck. Yuya had also bought Yuto some new goggles, he carefully slipped them onto Yuto’s head, so the boy’s lilac locks were framing his face.

“When did you buy these?” asked Yuto.

“A while back, sorry, I kinda forgot with everything that was happening. Do you like them?” 

Yuto giggled happily and gave Yuya a kiss. “I love them.” 

Yuya cooed and nuzzled Yuto. “I know you don’t have much because of what Academia did to you, but remember that you have us.

Yuto nodded. “I do,” he said and nuzzled Yuya again, placing kisses all over his face. “I love you all so much. All of you Father, Yugo, Yuri, Yoko Kaa-san….you all gave me hope when I thought that I’ll lose everything. I can’t thank you enough, never can.” 

_ It’s okay my dear Phantom. We would do anything to make you happy. _Zarc whispered.

Yuto’s smile widened. _ Love you so much Father, more than anything. _

Soon after, Yugo and Shun entered and Yuto purred at seeing Shun look nice and clean and draped in a towel. Shame that they had to go downstairs, he would want to smell the type of soap Shun used.

Shun did his best to avert his eyes from the gaze as he remembered something. “I don’t suppose you bought a spare set of clothes for me yesterday, did you?” he asked.

“Mmm-no,” Yuto said, tilting his head.

“I can’t go down there naked!” Shun replied.

“No, I certainly don’t want the girls to see you naked, or anyone like that but us really. Hmmm...Father? Can you help?”

Yuya chuckled, red eyes replaced with gold as he ran a finger down Shun’s shoulder. “Why, certainly my phantom. Anything for our _ little bird _.”

Shun gasped and pushed Yuya to the side at that, hand on his heart as he saw the golden eyes.

“It’s okay Shun, it’s just Father,” Yuto soothed him. “He can take over Yuya so he can physically interact with other people,” 

“Ah...ahh...Y-your majesty?” Shun stammered out. 

Zarc merely looked amused. “What shall I give you to wear then, Little bird? Hmm...I think I’m feeling black.”

Zarc extended his hand as it glowed dark purple. Black whips wrapped around Shun’s body, Shun yelping in surprise as the towel protecting his modesty fell to the floor. The dark wips disappeared to reveal Shun in a black turtleneck, black pants, and boots, along with a long open black coat with a subtle purple shimmer. 

Yuto purred. “My pretty little raven,” he said. “An omen of death to those who see them. For the raven is to be respected, _ never trusted _.”

Zarc chuckled. “I’m glad you approve, my phantom,” he said, running his hand through Yuto’s hair, making the Xyz duelist purr. “And you look quite exquisite, little bird. Now go on, Yoko-san is waiting.” 

“Yes Papa,” Yuto said breathlessly before giving Shun a kiss as the two went downstairs. Yet Zarc still looked a little worried about what he saw. There was no way that they...that _ they _ were back. He would have felt them, somehow...Tempest’s voice at the party…he shook his head, not wanting to get his hopes up in any way as he left Yuya’s body.

. 

Yuya swiftly followed after Zarc returned his body back, the two brothers heading for the fireman’s pole just as Serena noticed it.

“Wait, that was there the entire time?” she asked.

“Yeah, Yuya uses it to slide down, faster than taking the stairs,” Yoko answered, preparing two more plates for Yuya and Yugo. “Especially if he’s late for school.”

“Ehh…” Serena said, taking all that in, and wanted to slide down on the pole too. 

“We can try that tonight,” said Yuzu. “Right now, we have to get to LDS and explain to Masumi and Yaiba about...you know.”

“Y-yeah…” Serena said with a nod, biting into her pancakes. “Oh wow, they’re so fluffy!”

Shun and Yuto came down the stairs. Yoko took one look at the wardrobe, then glanced at Yuto. “Where did you get Shun new clothes this morning?” She asked, pretty sure Yuto couldn’t have bought him new ones already for three reasons: 1) she checked her credit card history this morning, 2) it’s too early for the shops to be open and 3) she would’ve sensed if Yuto somehow snuck into her room to steal her credit card.

“Oh um, Father was around, and a small spell is all he needed to give Shun new clothes since the one he wore yesterday are covered in smoke,” Yuto explained.

“Right,” said Yoko. “I gotta get those washed before I head off.”

“To where?” asked Yugo. 

“To my opponent for the day, of course,” Yoko answered. “I called Gongenzaka’s father last night and asked if I could duel Gongenzaka. Apparently the old man isn’t willing to let his son go out to other dimensions so easily. So Gongenzaka asked that he would prove his skills in battle against anyone his dad throws at him and stand up against any and all attacks. And besides, it’ll help the both of us out when it comes to developing our skills in Synchro.”

“Really?” asked Yuzu. “Yoko-san, since when did _ you _ know Synchro and so soon?”

“Oh, I had a good teacher,” she said just as Yuya and Yugo slid down the pole. Yoko took a glance at Yugo and winked at him.

“Good morning,” both boys greeted and sat down on the table next to each other. The pets finished with their breakfast, happily approached Yuya for a head pat. Yuya smiled and obliged, one of the cats jumping into Yugo’s lap, and got a scratch under their chin, it purred in Yugo’s lap making Yugo extremely happy. 

Yoko went to the fridge to pour glasses of juice for everyone, but when she returned, she nearly dropped the juice carton in surprise.

“What’s wrong, mom?” asked Yuya, his plate of pancakes covered in honey and strawberries.

“Yuya, you hate strawberries,” Yoko replied.

“Huh?” Yuya asked, tilting his head all while Yuto bit into one. 

“That’s right,” Yuzu said. “You hate anything with strawberries: strawberry jam, strawberry ice cream, strawberry shortcake… What’s going on?”

“Is Zarc doing something again?” Yoko asked .

No, Zarc wasn’t. In fact, Zarc remembered seeing a young boy in the castle gardens, happily gathering strawberries in a basket and sometimes popping one into his mouth. And there was also another thing he used to do…

“Hey, Yuya,” said Yugo. “Can I have a strawberry?”

Yuya giggled, taking the strawberry between his fingers and placing it on Yugo’s lips. Yugo opened his mouth and Yuya pushed the strawberry in further before placing a kiss on Yugo’s lips.

“What the hell?!” Serena yelled.

“Yuya, knock that off,” Yuto groaned.

“Oh wow...Ray wasn’t joking…” Yuzu commented.

Zarc placed a hand on top of Yuya’s head making him break his kiss with Yugo and whine pouting before he sighed and nodded, going back to eating the pancakes as if nothing had just happened. Yoko turned to Yuto.

“Yuto, did Yuya like strawberries in the past?”

Yuto blinked a few times. “Umm, no, mostly I loved them, not Yuya..”

“Okay then…” Yoko said. It was best not to push this further, especially since Zarc’s...ex?...was now working with them.

“Father seems worried,” Yuya said. “He won’t tell us why though.”

_ If Zarc himself is worried, how bad is this situation? _ Yoko thought. _ Why would Yuya feeding Yugo strawberries make him scared? I mean, Yuya just _ hates _ strawberries; he’s not allergic to them, per se. _

“Speaking of which,” said Yuzu. “Yuya...you were keeping a lot from me.” 

“Oh...yeah..." Yuya said, looking away in embarrassment. "Well to be fair I’ve only had my memories back about everything like a week ago, and I didn’t really know how to tell about...me being a dragon prince and all. I mean really, what other reactions would you have had except either thinking I’m out of my mind, or scream your head off in fear?” 

Yuzu bit her lip. “Yeah I would’ve reacted badly. I mean, just seeing Yuto at the warehouse was terrifying enough, and then having Shun mistake me for his sister also spooked me. I mean, if you wanna use one of Yoko-san’s horror analogies, it’s like those stories where a man sees his dead wife/sister/girlfriend in another girl and if he can’t have her, he’ll kidnap the girl and break her down to play the role of the wife/sister/girlfriend.”

“I’m not unhinged, Yuzu!” Shun said, quite offended by Yuzu’s analogy. 

“That's it. I’m throwing Kaa-san’s horror movie collection to the Shadow Realm right this instant,” Yuto muttered.

“Ooh, ooh, let me keep some!” Yugo whined. “Please Yuto? Please?”

“You may keep one,” Yuto said with a finality. 

“Ah no no no no, I don’t think so. These cost money and they’re my favorites,” Yoko said trying to stop Yuto by placing a hand on his shoulder. “Yuzu, look what you did!”

“Well, who’s the one who constantly played horror movies? Especially ones with terrible dolls in them or how people get turned _ into _ dolls?” Yuzu asked.

“Oh come on, _ Dolls _ had a sweet ending,” Yoko tried to defend the movie. “The little girl goes back to her mother and gets a new loving dad.”

“Oh yeah _ Coraline _ended happily and yet I still got freaked out by buttons for a month!” 

“What’s wrong with buttons?” Yoko said, pretending she had a button in her hand and placing it over her eye all while smiling.

Yuzu growled. “It’s the whole ‘giving up your soul for an eternal land of fun’ that’s what got me.”

“Well at least it’s better than what happened if you tried to go to Pleasure Island.”

“NO! ANYTHING BUT PLEASURE ISLAND!” Yuzu and Yuya wailed.

“Pleasure Island?” asked Serena. “That sounds kinda fun.”

“No it’s not,” Yuya said. “No it is _ not _. It may look fine but if you start playing around, you’re...changed.”

“Changed as in you get scared silly but you learn your lesson and return home to your loving parents?”

Yoko looked at Serena before cackling, hand clutching her stomach, sounding like a witch on her broomstick flying high into the night. Serena shivered and hugged Yuzu.

“Oh you are changed, girl,” Yoko said. “But as the Coachman says, those who divulge in what Pleasure Island has to offer never come back...as BOYS!”

“Then...what do they come back as?” Serena asked.

“Donkeys, pack mules, forced to work in the salt mines, trying to scream for someone to save them, but donkeys don’t talk. Not at all." Yokogrinned. “Basically some people have a sick sense of fun, hell you remember that when fairytales were written, people used to tell them to scare children into being careful. The Brothers Grimm watered things down and you now have the regular fairy tales told today. One story I heard has a little girl named Alice who spirits naughty children away by asking them if they shall ‘Die for her?!’”

“OKAY THAT’S IT!” Yuto snarled. “Yoko kaa-san...do you have any other movies that _ doesn’t _ have anything horrifying in it?”

“Um, that’s gonna take some time, and I don’t have time today to rearrange my DVD collection,” Yoko answered.

“To the Shadow Realm they all go then,” Yuto said and started walking to the living room

“Oh no you don’t,” Yoko said, grabbing Yuto’s arm and pulling him back. “That’s my television and my collection. You take them there, then you have to pay me back and I have a _ huge wish list _ of stuff I’ve been meaning to watch for a while.”

“Fine, then no more horror movie analogies from _ anyone!” _Yuto growled before tilting his head in thought. “...Well I have an amethyst back somewhere in my room. I can give you that to pay for the damage I’ll do. Oh yeah, Father, um...do you know where my favorite necklace is?”

“The amethyst can’t possibly pay for _ everything _ on my list--” Yoko began.

“It’s as big as my hand.” Yuto explained, before opening a small portal made of shadows and putting his hand inside. The moment he got it out there was indeed an amethyst stone as big as Yuto’s hand in it, before smoothly handing it to Yoko.

“WHAT?!” Serena said, eyes wide. Yuzu nearly dropped her fork onto the floor. “You can do that?” 

“Sure, and the amethyst is yours Yoko Kaa-san, we have plenty at home,” Yuto explained before going back to the table. 

“Wait, you have all these riches?” asked Yuzu. “Oh wow, if you had that all along, I’d never make that bet for Shingo to make his dad write a check for us.”

“Well his money is finally used for a good reason, and you didn’t exactly know we had any of this back when you challenged Shingo,” Yuya said. 

“Don’t tell dad about this. He’s always going crazy about not getting enough students anyway.” Yuzu looked down at that. “Because of what Yusho did…”

“We don’t need Yusho to continue to spread what duels should be about,” said Yuya. “All we can do is now is just let our actions convey our message and people will believe in it once more.”

Yuzu smiled and nodded, and Yoko smiled proudly at Yuya’s conviction and optimism. 

Yuto turned to Zarc again, “So Father, can I have my necklace back? I don’t remember where it is.”

_ “What... necklace, Yuto?” _Zarc asked, warily.

“Oh you know the one, it had a black fabric chain and a large blue topaz like a teardrop. What was it called again?”

“Oh, Siren’s Tear!” Yuya finished. 

_ “...” _

“Is...something wrong Father?” Yuya asked.

_ “No...nothing’s wrong. Just...ah thinking,” _Zarc said, patting Yuya’s head, doing all he can not to shut the link again. Doing his best not to cry at all these memories of them. 

** _Father…_ **

Zarc looked up, feeling hands on his shoulders. He froze.

** _Poor Father, it’s okay. _ **

No. No it’s not okay. This is all a trick. They can’t be here...they can’t be here! 

If Zarc could breathe, he’d be panting, heart pounding, sweat falling down his forehead. He’s going insane, he has to be. Those two are dead....he saw them die all those years ago with those smiles on their faces...

_ Stop doing this to me!_ Zarc said, squeezing his eyes shut, clenching his hands to fists. _Stop doing this to me, both of you! _

A light bulb suddenly broke and shards of glass dropped down on the table.

“Father?!”

“Zarc?! What the hell?”

_ “Zarc?” _ Ray asked, placing her hand on Zarc’s shoulder. _ “My love, what’s wrong?” _

_ “Was there...was there someone else here, with us?” _ Zarc asked softly. 

Ray shook her head_ . “Just us. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” _

_ “I’ll be lying if I said I am. Just...lately I feel like ghosts from the past keep haunting me in some way. _

_ “Maybe you should go back to the castle and truly rest, when’s the last time you actually slept, or took a nap at least.” _

_ “I’m a spirit, Ray. I don’t need these things right now.” _

_ “You are physical in other dimensions. Zarc, go rest. Please, it might be for the best,” _Ray said, giving Zarc a kiss and running her hand through his hair.

_ “...Yeah...maybe,” he said with a nod. _

Ray nodded with a smile and gave him a kiss. “_ Just a few hours of rest, Zarc. Don’t worry about a thing,” _Ray said with a soft smile caressing Zarc’s cheek.

Zarc sighed and nodded. _ “I’ll be gone for a while my loves.” _

_ “Alright Father,” _ his three sons replied. 

“Wait wait no...is this actually okay? I can’t just...take this entire thing right?” Yoko asked, still looking at the amethyst in her hand. “First off, I think I still have money from what Reiji’s been giving me in replacement for making my husband go dimension hopping in the first place.”

“Then save it for a rainy day, you can still keep it, it’s mine to give,” Yuto said with a shrug. “Hell, turn it into something pretty if you don't wanna sell it.”

“I wonder how much Masumi’s jewel shop would buy it for,” Yuzu said before looking at the clock on a shelf in the living room. “Ah! We gotta get going!” 

“O-oh yeah…” Serena said, finishing her food and standing up to follow Yuzu. She looked at the boys before she walked to Yuto and shyly whispered something. 

Yuto blinked before answering, with a small laugh. “Oh yeah, sure. No problem.”

“R-really? Thanks so much!” Serena said before returning to Yuzu’s side.

“What was that about?” Yuzu asked.

“I, uh...I asked him for something...” Serena said. 

“Asked him for what?” Yuzu asked. “I don’t think we should take them for granted you know.”

“Yeah but...I mean if it was okay with them...and ...and it was, so I asked. Besides, you deserve so much, Yuzu.”

“You’re just saying that, Serena.” 

“No, really, you’re so nice and kind and considerate. You deserve so much.” 

Yuzu blushed and squeezed Serena’s hand before the two of them started walking to LDS alongside Yuya.

“Aren’t you two gonna go to LDS too?” Yoko asked Shun and Yuto. 

“Um…” Shun began.

“Shun and I are going on a date back at our castle,’ Yuto explained. ”I’m kinda dying to show him our place, especially the garden,” Yuto placed a kiss on Shun’s cheek, smiling widely. 

“Wait, your castle?” Yoko said. “How does that work? And are you the only one who can enter it?”

“Oh, no, well technically with all the guards yes, but portals through the Shadow Realm are a dime a dozen and I can easily create those.” 

“But isn’t the Shadow Realm _ dangerous _? Full of monsters and terrors that will eat away at your sanity until you’re screaming for help or gone past the point of screaming or you’re thinking that you weren’t even a human in the first place or -- “

“Yeah, that proves my point; I’m burning up your horror collection,” Yuto interrupted. “And the Shadow Realm is used for punishment, yes, but that’s more for powerless humans who can’t fight the smallest of spirits there. Shun and I aren’t ordinary humans now, are we? I’ve been using the shadows since I was a toddler, and it’s just like crossing the street to me. ”

“A _ toddler _? So wait, just one minute you’re in your castle while Zarc is off on king business and then he finds out you entered the Shadow Realm somehow cuddling with a demon?!”

“Well I wasn’t cuddling a demon, but yeah. Unless the maids or servants could catch me. Poor Nausary. Used to use the shadows to play hide and seek with my brothers.”

“Nausa--who?”

“Oh Dragonmaid Nausary!” Yugo cheered. “I remember her. She just loved keeping an eye on us when Father wasn’t around.”

“Dragonmai--” Yoko groaned while Shun looked wide-eyed. “Is there an encyclopedia or something I can read?”

“Hmm… They’re duel spirits, I think there are cards printed with their image right?” Yuto asked. 

“Oh yeah I remember! They were a Fusion archetype, weren’t they? But only Houskee was the one fusion card,” Yugo said. “There’s one for each attribute and role for the house: Hauskee, Chame, Tillroo, Landry, Nausary and Parla! Mmm, I miss Tillroo’s cooking...I mean, that’s not to say I hate yours, Yoko kaa-san! But it’s been a long time.” 

“Did you have a lot of maids and butlers?” Yoko asked, raising her eyebrow. 

“Well yeah, we’re dragon princes living in a castle, we needed a lot of servants to keep the place clean and feed the staff there. The Dragonmaids were personally assigned to us though, any duty was less important than taking care of us. They coddled over us, and they were so patient with us,” Yuto explained. 

“So where were they when Yuya somehow ran away to join the circus?” Yoko questioned, wondering why Yuya from that story couldn’t just go to the Dragonmaids to be comforted.

“Yuya is crafty, and by that point we all learned how to sneak out of the castle without anyone noticing...well… Father would usually notice since he can literally sense these things, but if Yuya didn’t want to be seen, no one would have caught him.” Yugo explained.

“Oh...that makes sense.And your studies?” Yoko asked. 

“We had tutors, Father’s magicians tutored us in every subject we needed to know, magic, languages, mathematics, geography, history. you name it!"

“Yet it doesn’t explain my son’s low grades…then again that was more a psychological problem than it was a learning one.”

Yugo frowned. “Yusho really affected him, didn’t he?”

“Yuya’s not stupid and besides, he didn’t exactly remember his first life. I can easily see him not being good at school when all he wants is to have some fun…” Yoko sighed. She looked at her watch. “Damn it, I gotta get the laundry done now so Yugo can I get to the Gongenzaka Dojo. I wonder what Mr. Gongenzaka has told his son about me. Like I’m going to twist around those pythons and stuff his mouth with each and every hair of his pompadour?”

Yuto finished the pancakes, wiped his mouth with a napkin and smirked. “Come on, Shun,” Yuto said, opening a portal of darkness for both of them at the door which led to the backyard. “Can’t wait to show you my home.” 

Shun nodded, he himself wanted to see Yuto’s home. It would be nice, just hanging around with his prince for a while with no one but themselves in a nice place. Shun sighed, concentrating as his armor appeared and he followed Yuto inside holding his hand before Yoko could question why Shun even had that armor on in the first place.

Yoko sighed as she looked at all the leftover dishes. Tomorrow they’ll head off to Synchro, she had to be ready. Riding a motorcycle was easy for her. So was dueling. Dueling for her life from students who don’t mind committing genocide while also in the know about ancient dragon kings and such? That was the hard part. 

Yugo helped Yoko clean the table and wash the dishes, before he went into Yuya’s room and gathered their clothes to give it to Yoko so she could wash them. He chuckled, recalling Dragonmaid Landry having so much trouble with everything she had to wash. Even after all this time she could be quite clumsy

Yugo couldn’t help but be happy; he was with his family, he had gotten stronger, Rin was safe under Yuri’s care and he had delicious pancakes for breakfast! What could possibly go wrong?

As he was about to finish his last pancake, he paused. Something was in the air...it was a faint pulse of power...

It disappeared as soon as it appeared and thus Yugo shrugged it off and began polishing off his breakfast.

  
  


***************

The phone calls have not stopped, and neither do the emails.

In his office, Reiji hung the phone again and threw it at the wall before burying his head between his hands. He knew this day was going to come; sooner or later people were going to call him about the truth about all of those mergers and acquisitions, the deals, the takeovers. Many of the people that he personally dealt with were not happy about what had been told. Halil and Olga’s parents cried that they had no idea what happened to their children and there were people online discussing why and how Reiji would keep something secret for such a long time.

Adding onto the situation, Hokuto’s parents saw him the morning after the announcement, tearfully asking where their son had been and why he hadn’t done anything to save him...not knowing that Hokuto was sitting on his desk. 

Reira watched as her brother’s body shook at his seat. She knew that he’s been under a lot of pressure, even before she was found and brought to them. Ever since Reiji’s father disappeared Reiji was alone to run the company. Himika wasn’t that much help in the decision making or the actual merging, she was supervising it at best, as Reiji was the one who negotiated and made the offers. And since he was only 13, he was scrutinized by older business partners and people who thought they could take advantage of his young age and inexperience. He had to prove himself over and over again, and work towards a goal to stop his father. Now Reira was seeing her big brother, her family break under everything that had happened. More and more pressure was piled on him, and he didn’t know how to handle it, more so, Reira didn’t know how to help him. 

There were also a lot of people who weren’t happy to have LDS’s presence everywhere. Many of them were ready to quit and leave the schools to rot. This wasn’t their problem; it was all Reiji’s now. After all, Reiji did declare that he would go into battle with the first Lancers division. So that meant Himika had to keep in charge of all day-to-day operations until her son came back…

_ If _ he ever came back.

Reiji knew that there was a slim chance of him actually _ stopping _ his Father. And he knew that the Lancers were goddamn ill-equipped to stop an entire army. Hell, all but _ one _ student from the Youth Division survived (and that was because of Yugo’s interference) and Yuu Sakuragi was now being derided as a sniveling coward for running away from the battle.

It was why Synchro was important. He hoped to find others who were willing to stand by their side in fighting Academia. Reiji didn’t know what to do, or what Synchro held, but it was the best chance they all had to defeat his father. If the three dimensions banded together they could find a way to beat Academia.

It was nothing more than a miracle that Yuya’s...counterparts Yuto and Yugo were there and Yuri did spill the beans about what happened but that still meant nothing if there weren’t enough duelists to fight back. Serena was also a big help, Yuzu’s Bloom Diva was a powerful monster, capable of reflecting damage back at the opponent, Shun’s showing over Masumi, Yaiba and Hokuto showed how capable he was too. Dennis’s use of Xyz, Gongenzaka and his Superheavy Samurais capable of attacking even while in Defense Mode, Tsukikage and his Ninja monsters…

(He wasn’t sure what to say about Shingo, but then again he was more or less forced to reveal to Shingo the truth about what’s going on. And besides, Shingo _ did _ save Tsukikage and Serena from being carded.)

“Nii-san…” Reira whispered, approaching her brother. “Are you...okay?”

“OF COURSE I’M NOT OKAY!” Reiji snapped, his eyes red with tears.

Reira flinched back and made a small whimper, making Reiji stop and sigh. “I’m sorry Reira,” he said calmly before offering his hand to her like she was a skittish puppy. Reira hugged her bear closer and tentatively took Reiji’s hand. The older boy pulled her closer for a hug before a few tears fell down his cheeks. “I’m sorry I yelled. I’m just… I’m not okay right now, with everything that happened with everyone trying to take advantage of this situation, it’s...it’s driving me mad.” 

“It’s not your fault,” she said, softly wrapping her arms around Reiji’s neck and hugging him as close as she could. 

“It is…” Reiji said. “What was I thinking?! I thought I could do it all. I spent the past three years preparing for this, I should never have agreed to let Yusho go alone to that place in the first place, but I trusted him...trusted his judgement, I couldn’t do anything else. All I could do for his family is give them the means to provide for themselves. I couldn’t tell them what happened to Yusho; how would I even _ tell _them to begin with?

“And Yuya...Yuya was a bad duelist, I admit he would never achieve the level of dueling Yusho would obtain. But indirectly I made him a laughing stock. I let an _ entire city _ mock him for nothing. I stood there...I stood there and did nothing. I don’t...I just don’t _ know _what to do.”

Reira patted Reiji’s head and let him cry for a while. Reiji remembered telling Hokuto and Yaiba to shut up about mocking Yusho...all while Reiji dueled in Yusho’s school, Yusho’s legacy. And he _ didn’t even care _ about anything except Yuya’s cards. He didn’t care about Yuya’s feelings at all. Especially after he reviewed the footage of Shingo and Yuya’s duel and how Yuzu and those kids were stuck on the tallest spire where even just one powerful attack would have the tumbling to their dooms.

How could he be such a fool to allow Shingo to continue the duel? If Yuya’s magicians were a few seconds slower, four kids would’ve had every bone broken _ at best _ or dead _ at worst _ from that tall of a drop. And Reiji just watched and let it happen.

“Big brother survived so far, I know you can do it,” Reira told Reiji. “You'll find a way, right now, you should get some rest, I don’t think you’ve slept in days.” 

“I will but...hmm?”

Reiji looked up at his monitor showing the camera feed for the entrance of the school, seeing Yuya, Yuzu and Serena entering the LDS building, walking down the hall to a certain section of a hall. A few presses of a button and it showed them talking to Masumi and Yaiba...or rather getting yelled at by Masumi. Was this about Hokuto? He should probably go there and investigate.

Wiping the tears with a tissue. Reiji adjusted his glasses and stood up. Crying would have to come later. His dimension needed a leader, and he needed to act like one.

So he left the room with Reira close by, ready to face what was in store.

**************

“So what exactly is Gongenzaka like?” asked Yugo, sitting in the passenger’s seat in Yoko’s car.

“He’s a good boy,” Yoko said. “He always protected Yuya from bullies, he has his own sense of justice and protecting people is something he never stops doing. He’s honorable and good, and I was so happy that Yuya had had someone like him and Yuzu to be by his side and keep him probed up. The two of them were the cause for most of Yuya’s genuine smiles. Heck, when Reiji tried to buy-out You Show Duel School, Sora sat out of it -- little hypocrite -- but Gongenzaka stepped in even though it wasn’t his business. Just because he cared.”

“Rin would like him. We in the Commons had to rely on each other and loyalty goes a long way, I’m happy Yuya found friends that would stand by his side no matter what. ” Yugo sighed, recalling Rin in her black dress in his dreams. He wished that he could one day take her on a tour throughout the castle, make her dress like a princess, explore the gardens, dance in the ballroom until her shoes were worn out. Just the two of them…

“Uh, Yugo...we’re at the dojo.”

Yugo blinked as he noticed how Yoko parked in front of the stone steps that lead to this eponymous Gongenzaka dojo. Yugo looked in awe; he’d never seen something so...beautiful.

“It’s a bit of a climb, so let’s get going,” said Yoko, preparing her Duel Disk. Yugo nodded his head as the two climbed up the steps. 

“This place looks so cool!” Yugo exclaimed ready to jump out. “What type of dueling do they teach here?”

“Why don’t you come here and find out?”

Yugo looked up to see Gongenzaka waiting at the top step, arms folded over his chest. His father, Mr. Gongenzaka, who stood at around Gongenzaka’s leg, also nodded his head.

Yugo grinned happily at the challenge and started running up. It didn’t take him long to reach the top and he didn’t even look out of breath. Yoko just kept a steady pace but she eventually reached the top.

“So, Mr. Gongenzaka,” Yoko said. “Is your son ready for the challenge?”

“He is,” Mr. Gongenzaka said with a nod. “I must say, Yoko. I never thought _ you _ of all people would be willing to take on Noboru."

“Well I needed to test my skills with Synchro and your son needed your approval; it seemed like a win-win situation to me,” Yoko answered. 

“Hold on a second,” Gongenzaka said, staring at Yoko. “_ You’re _ the opponent my father was mentioning?”

“Right-a-roonie!” Yoko smiled, slipping her Duel Disk onto her arm. “Just wanted to make sure you were up to the task of being the immovable object.”

“This should be fun!” Yugo said all while Gongenzaka looked in confusion.

“Yoko-san, where did you learn Synchro summoning?” he asked.

Yoko motioned for Yugo with her head. “He taught me everything I know,” she said, and both father and son looked at Yugo who was smiling and had both hands behind his head. 

“Forgive me to ask but,” Mr. Gongenzaka looked at Yugo. “Where did _ you _learn how to Synchro Summon?”

“It’s kind of the only summoning method in my dimension,” Yugo asked.

“Your dimension?” Gongenzaka’s father repeated, and Yugo nodded.

“You call it the Synchro Dimension, we didn’t actually have much of a name for it other than the city and the slums really. And we just...knew, I guess. Synchro is all we know there.”

“And it’s good enough for what I’m about to show you, Noboru,” Yoko said. “Your Synchro monster is good, but only if your opponent actually has Spell Cards you’re capable of using. Believe me when I say that the cards I’m gonna be using are like poison.” 

“Can’t wait,” Yugo said crouching down, hands pulled into fists from excitement. “Make it good.” 

The four entered the dojo, the wooden floors lined with several students of the “Heavystrong” duel style, kneeling before them. Mr. Gongenzaka took his seat on the dais, and knelt down. Yugo joined him as Gongenzaka and Yoko stood ten feet apart from one another.

“Students!” Mr. Gongenzaka declared. “A storm is coming. And first and foremost we must be able to learn how to weather it. My son has proven that even the sturdiest of buildings will eventually crumble, and we must learn how to adapt to the times. We are facing the most devastating attack to our dimension but we must not be afraid to push forward. That is the way of the Heavystrong duel style!” Mr. Gongenzaka then turned to Yugo. “Anything you’d like to add?”

“Hmm, no,” Yugo said, shaking his head. “This is your home and dimension I’m just a spectator, and if anyone in this place has half the convictions that I heard Gongenzaka has, I know we’re leaving this dimension in perfect hands.” 

“Indeed,” Gongenzaka’s Father nodded his head satisfied. “Very well, begin the duel!” 

Yugo looked on in excitement as he watched Yoko and Gongenzaka activate their Duel Disks. This would be so much fun! 

**Gongenzaka: 4000**

**Yoko: 4000**

“I’ll go first,” said Gongenzaka, drawing a card as a large gust of wind blew across the room. Yugo looked in shock as Gongenzaka added, “And I summon onto the field Superheavy Samurai Flutist!”

A humanoid shaped monster appeared on the field. His body was made from purple blocks attached together by navy blue parts that spread into four fuel exhausts and he wielded a silver flute in his hands. (500 ATK)

“But he won’t stay for long, because when I summon him, then I can use his effect to tribute him and Special Summon Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei!”

Superheavy Samuri Flutist blew his flute before vanishing. Then, the ground began to quake as a giant samurai rose in front of Gongenzaka with orange armor guards, a black chestplate, and part of his legs. (3500 DEF)

“3500 defense?!” Yugo gasped.

“Nice to be fighting you at long last,” said Yoko, recalling how this was once Gongenzaka’s trademark monster before Gongenzaka performed a Synchro Summon.

“He’s not staying long,” Gongenzaka continued. “But that will be for my next turn. Your move.” 

“Wait,” said Yugo. “Don’t you have Spell or Trap Cards?!”

“The Heavystrong style is about not using Spell or Trap Cards in the deck,” Mr. Gongenzaka explained. “Every single card in my son’s deck is a monster.”

“Huh?!” Yugo asked. That was quite a surprise. In most decks, not having Spells or Traps would definitely scream "You're goddamn insane!"

“You’re right that your Goliath won’t stay long, Gongenzaka,” Yoko said. “Because I’m gonna take him down with the skills that I’ve learned! I draw!”

She drew her card, looked at it with a smirk before revealing it to her opponent. “Let’s take this to the place where reptiles roam. I play the Field Spell, Dragon Ravine!”

Yoko played her Field Spell and soon the scenery of the dojo changed to everyone in the bottom of a very large ravine. Gongenzaka looked up and he saw dragons flying everywhere, some perched on rocks or just lazing about.

“Dragons?!” Gongenzaka exclaimed. “I, the man, Gongenzaka did not expect you to play a dragon deck.”

“Well my son’s special monster isn’t called Odd-Eyes Pendulum _ Bunny _ now is it?” Yoko replied causing Yugo to snicker; there’s a Duel Monster known as Rabidragon and in the winter Zarc would bring him and his brothers to see them and play with the babies. “Now whenever I discard a card I can either send a Dragon-type monster from my deck to the graveyard or take a...well, a certain archetype that you’ll see in a moment.” 

Yoko slipped a card from her hand to the graveyard before swiftly taking another card popping out of her deck to her hand.

“Now then, let me show you one of those members. I summon to the field the monster called Dragunity Dux!”

Rising onto the field is a humanoid falcon wearing an Egyptian-styled armor wearing a helm that looks like a falcon with purple feathers along with large metallic wings with black edging and white feathers. In his left hand he wielded a staff with multiple white streamers. (1500 ATK)

“Hold on a second!” said Gongenzaka. “That monster is a Winged-Beast type!”

“The effect said I can take a Dragunity _ monster _ to my hand,” Yoko reiterated. “It never said _ Dragon _. Dragunity monsters are both Dragons and Winged-Beasts.”

“Mmph,” Gongenzaka grunted. “That’s pretty sneaky.”

“Now then,” Yoko continued. “Dragunity Dux gains 200 attack points for every ‘Dragunity’ monster on the field, including itself.”

Dragunity Dux screeched as his attack stats rose. (1500 -) 1700 ATK)

“But he’s not going to be all by his lone self. Dux’s second effect activates! Now I can equip it to a Level 3 or lower Dragon ‘Dragunity’ monster in my graveyard. And the monster I chose is one I discarded, Dragunity Phalanx!”

Rising behind Dragunity Dux was a blue dragon standing on his hind legs, covered in golden armor. It had two gold shields attached to his front claws and he had a helm with the front being shaped like two spears that were made to thrust into someone’s stomach. The dragon perched itself onto Dragunity Dux’s back.

“Wait, hold on!” said Gongenzaka. “Dragunities are capable of equipping _ themselves _ onto each other?”

“There’s a reason why it’s name is a portmanteau of ‘Dragon’ and ‘Unity’, Noboru,” Yoko chuckled. “But here’s the thing about Dragunity Phalanx. If it becomes equipped onto a ‘Dragunity’ monster, I can move it from its Spell Zone to a Monster Zone!”

Dragunity Phalanx fluttered next to Dux’s side, still ready to strike. (Phalanx: 500 ATK, Dux: 1700 -) 1900 ATK)

“Hmm, so these monsters can be summoned to the field as both extensions of each other and a Tuner,” Gogenzaka’s Father surmised. 

“Some of them can also be Special Summoned from the graveyard so they have a never ending supply of Tuners especially if their Spell or Trap cards are on the field,” Yugo explained.

“I see...a very interesting archetype,” Gongenzaka’s father stated. Yugo nodded, grinning widely, enjoying the show. 

“Now let’s make this a party! ! I tune my Level 4 Dragunity Dux and Level 2 Dragunity Phalanx!”

Dragunity Phalanx turned into three green rings as Dux shrunk into four stars that fell into line like soldiers on the battlefield. 

**(*2 + *4 = *6)**

_ “Crimson spear, appear in my hands right now and inflict a wound onto my opponent that can never be healed! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg!” _

Descending from the sky was a large navy blue dragon with red armor like blood, its head resembling a silver and red spearhead. Its wings were red with the skin a shade of navy blue just like its body. (2400 ATK)

“What in the name of Big Benkei is that?!” Gongenzaka gasped.

“What’s wrong?” asked Yoko. “Never had to fight a dragon before? The names of the Dragunity monsters are different -- Dragons are named after polearm weapons and the Winged-Beasts are based on militia terms that, let me tell you, weren’t exactly easy to find online.”

“But let’s get back to what Gae Dearg is capable of. Once per turn, I can take either a Level 4 Dragon or Winged-Beast monster from my deck to my hand, but I must discard a Dragon or Winged-Beast monster in my hand to the graveyard. So I’m discarding Dragunity Brandistock to take another Dragunity dragon to my hand.”

Yoko swiftly sent the named card to the graveyard then took a new card. She smirked as she looked at her hand of four.

“Quick question, Gongenzaka. Can lightning strike twice?”

“Well...no.”

“Correct, here’s another question. Can you Synchro Summon more than once in a single turn?”

“Y...yes! But wait, you don’t have a Tuner monster on the field! How are you going to do that?”

“By bringing back the materials I used for Gae Daerg! I play the Spell Card _ De-Synchro _!”

Yoko played another Spell Card, showing a blue background with silver stars and two white wisps in the center.

“This card returns Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg back to my Extra Deck and resurrects the materials used to summon it. So come back Dragunity Dux and Dragunity Phalanx!”

Gae Dearg began to glow before its body split into the Synchro materials who prepared themselves for battle once more. (Phalanx: 500, Dragunity Dux: 1500 -) 1700 ATK)

“And now I’m gonna tune these two together one more time!”

“I, the man Gongenzaka, understand now,” Gongenzaka muttered. “You’re gonna Synchro Summon Gae Dearg in order to take advantage of its special ability again, aren’t you?”

“I’d like to,” Yoko chuckled. “...but I think I’ll summon someone new this time! Get ready!”

The two monsters repeated their dance of Synchro Summoning as Mr. Gongenzaka nodded his head. This was quite an interesting strategy.

**(*2 + *4 = *6)**

_ “Swift as lightning and indestructible like a diamond, come forth and bring everything into emptiness! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Dragunity Knight - Vajrayana!” _

Lightning crashed as another Synchro dragon descended with red-orange scales and black claws, a green diamond over his chest. Riding on top of Vajrayana was a warrior with armor similar to that of the dragon, wielding a large polearm. (1900 ATK)

“Hold on a second,” said Gongenzaka. “You separated Gae Dearg for a weaker monster?”

“It’s not gonna be weak for long,” said Yoko. “Remember that I had to send a monster from my hand to the graveyard to activate Gae Dearg’s effect right? Well then, this is going to work in conjunction with Vajrayana’s effect! When he’s Synchro Summoned, I can equip a Level 3 or lower ‘Dragunity’ monster from my graveyard onto it. And that monster is known as Dragunity Brandistock!”

A small blue-silver dragon in blue armor that made him look more like a grape and a helm with a long horn like a unicorn appeared and perched on top of Vajryana’s head. (1900 ATK)

“Nothing’s changed,” Gongenzaka muttered.

“Not for long,” Yoko chuckled. “Vajrayana’s effect! If I sacrifice a ‘Dragunity’ monster equipped to it, its attack points are doubled this turn!”

Brandistock glowed with power before a bolt of lightning destroyed him. Vajryana howled to the sky as its power increased (1900 -) 3800 ATK)

“Oh no!” Gongenzaka gasped.

“Oh yeah! Go Vajrayana!”

Vajrayana flapped its wings before flying towards Big Benkei as its rider prepared to jump off and stab the samurai’s heart.

“I won’t go down that easily!” Gongenzaka shouted. “I discard Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit to prevent my monster from being destroyed this turn at the cost of 800 of its defense points.”

_ Shit! _ Yoko thought. _ I should’ve known he was going to pull off that tactic. _

Big Benkei was suddenly wearing a chest plate designed to look like it was on fire just as the attack from the rider of Vajrayana struck. (3500 -) 2700 DEF) With a frown, Vajrayana descended and its rider hopped on. 

“Is that all you got?” asked Gongenzaka.

“For now,” Yoko grunted, placing a card face-down behind her Synchro monster. “Your move.”

“Indeed! I draw!”

With the force of his draw, a gust of wind blew across the field. 

“Now I summon the Tuner known as Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter!”

A small metal doll, with a red samurai armor and a hat shaped like a triangle appeared with a seashell-like horn in his hand. (300 ATK)

“Daww, look at the little guy!” Yugo cooed. “He’s so cute!” 

“And now I, the man Gongenzaka, shall tune both of my monsters together!” Gongenzaka announced. 

The two Superheavy Samurai monsters shrunk, with Trumpeter turning into three rings and Big Benkei turned into _ eight _ white stars.

**(*2 + *8 = *10)**

_ "Raging deity, in unison with the roar of a thousand blades, come forth in a spiraling sandstorm! Synchro Summon! Now come before us, Level 10! Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo!” _

A giant metal looking samurai monster with green shoulderpads and small wings with arm and leg guards. He also wore a black chestplate with two red lines and yellow (3800 DEF)

“Nice to see you again,” Yoko commented.

“It’s too bad Vajrayana’s not staying long though. Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo...attack Vajrayana!”

The Superheavy Samurai Synchro charged into battle, grabbing the dragon before it could fly off and crushed it, rider and dragon, to death before shattering into pixels.

**Gongenzaka: 4000**

**Yoko: 2100**

“I end my turn there,” said Gongenzaka. “Your move.”

“My turn!” said Yoko, calmly drawing her card. “And I’ll start by activating my face-down card, Descending Lost Star!”

Her Trap Card flipped over, revealing Ally of Justice Catastor descending from the sky. 

“This Trap Card allows me to revive a Synchro monster in my graveyard. However it is stuck in Defense Mode, its Level is decreased by 1 and its Defense drops down to 0. So come back Dragunity Knight - Vajrayana!”

Vajrayana rose onto the field, both dragon and rider pissed off at being destroyed minutes ago. (LV: 6 -) 5, 0 DEF)

“I, the man, Gongenzaka assume that Vajrayana isn’t going to be staying for long,” Gongenzaka surmises.

“He’s not,” Yoko replied. “Now I bring out the monster I got from Gae Dearg’s effect. I summon the Tuner known as Dragunity Darkspear!”

Fluttering onto the field from a nearby rock was a black dragon with a skinny body like a pole with an odd head shaped like a spear head. (1000 ATK)

“And next, I’ll tune my Level 3 Dragunity Darkspear with my Level _ 5 _ Dragunity Knight - Vajrayana!” 

Darkspear grinned before it turned into three green rings while Vajrayana turned into five white stars that marched in line.

**(*3 + *5 = *8)**

_ “Lance that fights off in the mountains, lead me to victory here and now! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Dragunity Knight - Barcha!” _

The next Dragunity knight to appear was a green and purple dragon wearing a silver breastplate and had a silver head with a golden front, its lower jaw elongated out like a spike. Its rider also had green and purple dragon armor. (2000 ATK)

“I don’t like its attack score,” Gongenzaka muttered.

“Barcha’s effect!” Yoko shouts. “When it’s Synchro Summoned, I can equip as many ‘Dragunity’ monsters onto it from my graveyard and it gains 300 attack points per monster! I equip Dragunity Phalanx and Dragunity Brandistock!”

The Dragunity tuners in gold and cyan armor respectively fly towards Barcha, ready to help it fight. (2000 -) 2600 ATK)

“And remember that when Phalanx is equipped, it goes from my Spell Zone to my Monster Zone!”

Phalanx flew to the ground, unafraid of Gongenzaka’s big monster. (Phalanx: 500 ATK, Barcha: 2600 -) 2300 ATK)

“Are you going to be Synchro Summoning again?” asked Gongenzaka.

“I could, but I wanna see how this works out first,” said Yoko. “I equip Barcha with the Spell called Dragunity Divine Lance!”

Yoko played a new Spell Card showing Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz wielding a brilliant lance with a large gold and silver head and the front having wings in the center all while eight gold lances point to it. It took Yoko a long time and research to see that the lance was based off of all the Dragunity monsters.

“When I equip this onto Barcha, it will gain 100 attack points for each level that it has, and since this is a Dragunity card equipped to it, that’s an _ additional _ 300 attack points given to it.”

The rider of Dragunity Barcha raised his hand to the sky as the lance fell into his hands. Barcha roared as a gold aura surrounded it. (2300 -) 3400 ATK)

“And I haven’t even gotten into its _ other _effect! Once per turn, this lance allows me to equip a Dragon ‘Dragunity’ Tuner onto whoever is equipped to it. So I equip Dragunity Pilum to Dragunity Barcha!”

A tiny green dragon ih black armor with cyan trim emerged, the front of the armor like a thin silver lance (although to Yoko it made the dragon look like a screwdriver) (3400 -) 3700 ATK)

“That’s still not enough to pierce Susanowo’s defense,” Gongenzaka pointed out.

“I’m not going for your monster, I’m going for _ you _,” said Yoko. “Now that Dragunity Barcha is equipped to Dragunity Pilum, it can attack you directly but its attack score is cut in half.”

“I, the man, Gongenzaka will not be losing less than half of his lifepoints,” said Gongenzaka. “I’ll recover from that quickly.”

“Oh really? I activate Dragunity Brandistock’s effect! I’ll offer it up while it’s still an Equip Spell Card so that Barcha can attack twice this turn!”

Gongenzaka’s eyes widened. “But that means…”

“It’s like I’m attacking Barcha at full force!” Yoko finished with a grin.

Brandistock vanished as Barcha grinned at Big Benkei. (3700 -) 3400 ATK)

“Go Barcha, attack directly!”

Barcha zipped through the ravine as its wielder raised the Divine Lance into the air. It began to glow as two orbs of light manifested. After three seconds, the rider lowered the lance and two golden spears flew past Big Benkei and struck Gongenzaka. Miraculously, Gongenzaka wasn’t knocked over in the slightest.

**Gongenzaka: 4000 -) 2300 -) 600**

**Yoko: 2100**

“YEAH! GET HIM!” Yugo shouted. “You’re almost done!”

“I end my turn there,” said Yoko. “Now then, be very careful. After all, your Susanowo’s effect only works for Spell Cards in my Graveyard, and I don’t have any. Even if I did, they’re not any you can use, right?”

“That may be, but I still must stay strong no matter the odds!” Gongenzaka replied. “I draw!”

He drew and another gust of wind blew across the field. “And I, the man Gongenzaka, summon Superheavy Samurai Magnet in Defense Mode!”

A goliath monster with a blue body and a giant magnet attached to his head, sat in Defense Mode with two exhausts on each leg, and his hands had one plus mark and the other had one minus mark (2000 DEF)

“And Superheavy Samurai Magnet allows me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower ‘Superheavy Samurai’ from my hand. So I summon Superheavy Samurai Fist!”

A yellow and red monster with one giant red fist with two blue exhausts on each leg, two red circles on his chest a bird face with a blue beak (900 ATK)

“So now I’m gonna tune both Level 4 Superheavy Magnet and Level 2 Superheavy Samurai Fist together!”

“Wait, you have _ another _Synchro monster?!” asked Yoko, eyes wide.

“Sure do. I’m not a one-trick pony, am I?”

“Another Synchro Monster with a lower level?” Gongenzaka’s father hummed. “Interesting.”

The two monsters on Gongenzaka's field transformed, Magnet into four stars and Fist into three green rings.

**(*2 + *4 = * 6)**

_ "Rise your war cry. Divine ogre! Show yourself. On this battlefield of raging ice and storm! Synchro Summon! Now depart for the front! Level 6! Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji!" _

A red and yellow giant monster with a spiked club emerged, ready to destroy Yoko's dragons until they could no longer fly. (2500 DEF)

“Ogre Shutendoji’s effect!” Gongenzaka shouted. “While I have no Spells or Traps in the graveyard when this is Synchro Summoned then all Spell and Traps you control are destroyed!”

“And that deck doesn’t _ use _ Spell or Traps...that means!” Yugo gasped.

_ No! _ Yoko thought, seeing the two Equip Spell Cards on Dragunity Barcha. _ That’ll just have Barcha go back to 2000 attack points! Oh why didn’t I do another Synchro Summon when I had the chance? _

Ogre Shutendoji raised his club into the air before slamming it down three times. Barcha roared as its Equip Spells were destroyed and the ravine began to fade away until everyone was back in the dojo. And indeed, Barcha’s attack dropped down to 2000.

“Now, Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji, attack Dragunity Barcha! And Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo...attack directly!” Gongenzaka commanded.

“Wait a second!” said Yugo. “Susanowo is in defense mode! It can’t possibly…”

“It can,” said Mr. Gongenzaka. “Even in Defense Mode, Superheavy Samurais can attack!”

“Yoko kaa-san!!!” Yugo shouted, realizing what was going to happen and turned away when Ogre Shutendoji beat Barcha to death with his club and Susanowo charged towards Yoko, causing her to be thrown back to the wall and collapsing onto her side.

**Gongenzaka: 600**

**Yoko: 300**

Yoko coughed as she stood up. Man, she was going to feel that tomorrow.

“I’m not done,” said Gongenzaka. “I equip Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji with Superheavy Samurai Soulbeads! This will prevent it from being destroyed by card effect once per turn!”

Appearing over Ogre Shutendoji’s neck was a large coral bead necklace, the pendant similar to a teal engine with four exhaust pipes like a heart.

“And I end my turn there,” said Gongenzaka. “Might I say, Yoko-san, that this was a good duel. Yuya would be proud if he saw you.”

“Save the compliments after I kick your butt.” said Yoko. This duel ain’t over yet! I draw!” She drew her card, nearly tearing it off her deck. She looked at it and smiled; she might be able to pull it off after all. “And I play the Spell Card called Cards of Consonance!”

She played a Spell Card of two people exchanging cards. One hand had two facedown cards, another had a card that showed off either a glowing white stone or a glowing egg (Yoko was unable to tell which).

“If I discard a Dragon Tuner with 1000 attack or less, I can draw two cards. So I discard Dragunity Course for this and let’s see where it takes us.”

Yoko discarded her Tuner and drew two more cards. She smiled. This was going to work after all.

“I play the Spell Card...Return of the Dragon Lords! This resurrects a Level 7 or 8 Dragon from my graveyard! Guess who I’m bringing back?”

Yoko played her Spell Card of a knight with blond hair and a white cape, planting his sword in front of the statue of a large teal dragon. Then, Dragunity Knight - Barcha emerged from said card, ready for another fight. (2000 ATK)

“And for my Normal Summon, I summon Dragunity Aklys!” 

Zipping onto the field was a skinny red dragon with its wings on its _ head _, wearing long white armor that looked like it had a large spine. (1000 ATK)

“And when Aklys is summoned, I can Special Summon a ‘Dragunity’ monster from my hand and then have Aklys equip itself onto them. So I summon Dragunity Javelin for some very pointy fun.”

A new navy blue dragon covered in yellow armor like three large diamonds appeared, flapping his tiny wings. (1200 ATK) Aklys then perched on top of Javelin, the two glaring at Gongenzaka.

“And now, I’ll tune my Level 8 Dragunity Knight - Vajryana and Level 2 Dragunity Javelin together!”

Just like how Gongenzaka Synchro Summoned Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo, Vajrayana turned into eight stars, grouped into two rows of four as they entered the three rings that was once Dragunity Javelin.

**(*2 + *8 = *10)**

_ “Sacred spear that slayed the fearsome dragon, now you aid the dragon themselves to slay the enemy forces! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Emerge, Dragunity Knight - Ascalon!” _

A harsh wind began to glow as a giant golden dragon with _ eight _ wings appeared in front of Yoko. Its rider was Dragunity Dux who wielded a golden spear in his hand. Ascalon’s red eyes glared at Gongenzaka, ready to incinerate that Superheavy paperweight into a crisp. (3300 ATK)

“I, the man Gongenzaka, am confused,” said Gongenzaka. “Why did you Synchro Summon when Aklys was still an Equip monster?”

“That’s also an interesting question,” Mr. Gongenzaka added while Yugo chuckled.

“Because of its effect,” Yoko answered. “When it’s sent to the graveyard while equipped to a monster, I can destroy a card on the field!”

“No way!” Gongenzaka gasped.

“Yes way! So I use Aklys’ effect to destroy...your Warlord Susanowo!”

The spirit of Aklys appeared before flying towards Susanowo. It struck the heart before the mighty Level 10 Synchro shattered.

“And I’m not done yet,” said Yoko. “I know the effect of your Soulbeads, so i didn’t use Aklys’ effect on Ogre Shutendoji. Instead, I’m gonna use the effect of Dragunity Knight - Ascalon! If I banish a ‘Dragunity’ monster from my graveyard, I can target a monster you control and banish that instead! Your Soulbeads don’t cover banishment, do they?”

Gongenzaka gulped; he had no monster in his hand to protect Shutendoji as Ascalon roared, flapping his wings to unleash a giant gust that caused Shutendoji to howl before it vanished.

“Now then Dragunity Knight - Ascalon...attack directly!”

Ascalon flew towards Gongenzaka as Dragunity Dux leapt off and hurled his golden spear to the opponent. Gongenzaka braced himself, Duel Disk like a shield as the spear struck it. Gongenzaka braced himself as five uneasy seconds passed, then he was thrown back a few feet, lying on his back with a groan.

**Gongenzaka: 0**

**Yoko: 300**

“Woohoo!” Yugo cheered as Yoko won and jumped up. “That was so awesome! You two would do great in the Friendship Cup I guarantee it!” Yugo said, running towards the two of them with a big smile on his face. 

Yoko smiled and ruffled Yugo’s hair. “It’s all thanks to you, Yugo. You were an excellent teacher!”

Yugo grinned with a soft blush on his face. If only Rin was here to see him now.

“Thank you,” Gogenzaka told Yugo before turning to Yoko. “And I, the man Gongenzaka, am honored to have dueled you, Yoko-san.” 

“You both did well,” said Mr. Gongenzaka, approaching the three of them. He then turned to his son. “Let this be a lesson, to you. You may have strong defenses, but eventually walls will fall and crumble to the ground. But do not be discouraged; as long as you can keep standing up and move forward, you will prevail."

Gongenzaka bowed. “Thank you father. I, the man, Gongenzaka, will make you proud.”

“You already have,” Mr. Gongenzaka said with a smile.

“Well then, how about some celebratory _ donburi _ for lunch? My treat!” Yoko said, clapping her hands together. 

“YAHOO!” Yugo shouted. “Donburi with everything on it for me!”

And he cheered as he, Yoko and Gongenzaka left the dojo in high spirits. As they headed down the steps and Yugo gushed on how the donburi would be so delicious, he paused.

“Hmm?” asked Yoko, turning around. “Yugo, what’s wrong?”

Yugo tilted his head. “I thought I sensed something.”

“Like what?” asked Yoko.

“Just...something.”

Yoko sighed as she hurried down the stairs. Last thing she needed was some unexpected visitor to arrive.

At that she shook her head; I mean, it’s not like they’d appear just as the three of them were about to eat. That’d be too much of a coincidence.

****************

_ “Papa...wake up, papa…” _

Zarc’s eyes fluttered open to find himself sitting at the dining table. He blinked a few times trying to remember how he had gotten there. He was in the dining room but it was decorated differently. The wall of the room along with the table was decorated with white flowers like snow. In the center of the table was a crystal vase with a small pretty bouquet of white and purple flowers. Jasmine and Lavender.

Then his eyes landed on two boys standing by his sides and he looked in surprise as if he had just seen someone appear out of thin air. They looked around eight years old, both in butler uniforms. The one on his right, with black hair and silver bangs wore a black suit and white gloves, along with what seems to be a golden pocket watch in the pocket of his vest, his wings tucked, black with a purple shimmer, his tail sweeping back and forth, brushing against the red carpet. He blinked and his crimson eyes shone with awe and wonder.

The second boy wore a white suit with black gloves and an identical pocket watch. His hair was silver like Zarc’s, styled like his own, the bangs however had purple streaks on them instead of green and he had blue eyes sparkling like a crystal blue sea. His wings were a very light purple and his tail was curled around his leg, like a whip ready to lash out at an intruder. Both of the boys had sweet innocent smiles on their faces and giggled at seeing their father wake up from his nap. 

“W...what are you doing here?” Zarc whispered, unsure as to who he was seeing. They couldn’t be here, not now...

The one in the black suit giggled and the one in white followed suit as if this was a silly question to ask. 

“Tempest...Haze.. .” Zarc whispered, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. No...no they can’t be here. Not like this, not now...he had already given up hope in trying to see them again.

“Yes Papa?” The two boys asked, tilting their heads at him. They then walked in unison towards him, their smiles never fading. They each took a hand in their own and tried pulling Zarc up, tiny hands gripping onto the bigger ones of the dragon king. Zarc was paying more attention to how pale they looked, how their hands felt so cold, how their eyes looked so dark and empty and blank... 

“Come on now Papa,” the one in black, Tempest said. 

“Don’t keep us waiting!” The one in white, Haze added.

“No…” Zarc whispered, shaking his head. “No…This is...this is wrong...” he repeated, body shaking at what he was seeing. These weren’t them...these copies were not Tempest and Haze…they were fakes. Illusions, ghosts, phantoms. An old term came to his mind. Right, a _ pecia _...just part of a manuscript of a book monks would copy down to make it easier to develop and practice. These boys weren’t real...just clones of two people who could never return.

Both boys pouted, their eyes being filled with tears. “But we wanna take care of Papa.” “Tempest” exclaimed. “We wanna feed you cake and play with you again.”

“Papa~” Haze cried, clinging to his leg, his lips trembling as two fat tears fell down.

Even if they were fake, their tears broke Zarc’s heart. He reached out to wipe them away, heart breaking at seeing them -- even if they weren’t his sons -- cry like that.

“...Alright...I suppose…” Zarc said and he could hear his own heart hammering in his ear as he agreed. 

“Yay~” both boys cheered and hugged Zarc’s legs. 

The two tried to climb up to sit on his lap, Zarc was too stunned to stop them, his heart hammering in his ears too much. It took some doing, but soon “Tempest” was on Zarc’s left leg and “Haze” sat on Zarc’s right, hugging him and purring gently. It tugged Zarc’s heart, wanting to hug them and nuzzle them back, kiss their cute cheeks, foreheads and noses.

Zarc swallowed as he tried to reach out for something, but Tempest was one step ahead of him and had a slice of chocolate cake with a stripe of vanilla cream and strawberries.

“Come on papa,” said “Tempest”. “You have to eat!”

“Please eat!” said “Haze”, a little bouncy of Zarc’s leg. It made Zarc wanna weep again, remembering bouncing Haze and Tempest on his legs when they were that age so long ago. The two of them excited for the day that they could fly with their wings and see everything. Tempest wanted to see the stars above, Haze wanted to look at the ground below. Zarc wanted to pull the children in his lap for a hug, promising that their wings would eventually grow big enough for them to fly for as long as they wanted to, and their feet would never ever have to touch the ground. That they could fly up to the sun and not worry of their wings melting and they to plummet into the sea like Icarus.

“I...I’m sorry,” Zarc said, shaking his head. “I don’t...really feel hungry right now.”

“Just one bite Papa, you need it after all,” “Tempest” pleaded, his tiny porcelain hand trembling.

“You did it all the time with our little brothers,” “Haze” added.

Zarc looked at “Haze”, the Dragon king looked so pale and worried, fighting tears that threatened to fall down his cheek. “How...how did you…”

“There you go papa, just open your mouth,” “Tempest” pouted, and Zarc was all too weak for that look, he sighed and opened his mouth, taking a bite out of the cake. 

“Hooray! Come on Papa, eat more!” Haze encouraged him 

Zarc took another bite and another, letting both boys feed him, he couldn’t feel the time pass as his eyes started fluttering closer looking at the smiling faces of his sons.

...

…

...

“Wakey wakey papa~” Zarc heard a familiar voice singsong in his ear.

Zarc groaned, feeling so woozy from everything. How did he get here? The smell of jasmine and lavender filled the air, and he breathed in deep…

Wait, jasmine and lavender?!

His eyes shot open as he saw two figures in the bed with him, older, probably around 16. They nuzzled and cuddled against Zarc, purring and sighing in happiness. They were both wearing those black and white butler suits, their skin the color of porcelain. “Tempest’s” hand, free of the gloves, trailed down his open chest. Zarc noticed he was wearing a black open chested blouse, showing off the necklace on a black fabric chain with a beautiful blue teardrop gem. The Siren’s Tear. Tempest’s favorite necklace. 

It was called that because of the magic gemstone, each drop of rain water that hits the topaz transforms it into a drop of a magic elixir that was said to lead people who drank it towards their heart’s desire, no matter the danger and no matter the consequences. Tempest would leave the gem out on a ledge where a bottle rested underneath. That way the raindrops would drip into the potion bottle and Tempest would have these potions stock piled just in case. 

Each touch from the boys sent shivers down Zarc’s spine. Memories of the two entering his bed and hugging him in the early morning flashed through his mind. But memories...were just that. They were from the past. Zarc was shaking, tears forming in his eyes. This was all a horrible dream, a nightmare. This was something he wished for but could never ever have, his eldest sons back.. 

“Papa…” “Tempest” whispered. “Are you okay?”

“No…” Zarc said then he roared, “NO! Get away from me, the both of you!”

He pushed the two off of him and hopped out of the bed, eyes wide at seeing these two..._ dolls _ with his sons’ faces look at him in confusion and fear.

“We just want you to smile again,” “Tempest” pleaded.

“Why are you doing this to us?” “Haze” said, biting his lip. ”Don’t you want us back Papa? Don’t you love us anymore?”

“I...I do…” Zarc said. “But this isn’t real. None of this is.”

“We’re back now papa,” said “Haze”, purring as he crawled towards Zarc and nuzzled him. “We missed you so much. Don’t you miss us? Don’t you want us back?”

“Why are you afraid of us?” “Tempest” whimpered. “We just want to be close to you, papa, we want to show you how much we still love you.”

“Kiss us papa,” “Haze” begged. “We missed you so dearly.”

“I want you back, but this isn’t possible…” Zarc said, close to screaming at whoever decided to weave this nightmare.

“Tempest” and “Haze” whimpered slightly as they began to kiss their Father on the lips, cheek forehead, pushing him to the mattress as they began to nibble on his ear, graze their fangs on his neck, showing their affection for him in any way they could. Zarc shivered at the touches, familiar and sweet. 

“W...what are you doing to me?” Zarc asked, terrified. Those eyes...those eyes were dead and hollow and empty.

“We want to show our love for you,” “Tempest” whispered. “Show you it never faded,” the boy wrapped his hand through Zarc’s hair, placing a kiss on his cheek. 

“We missed giving you this love, and we know you missed receiving it,” “Haze” added, unbuttoning Zarc’s blouse and running a hand over his chest. “Please, let us give you what you desire…” “Haze” purred softly, lovingly. 

As his mouth was getting close to suck on Zarc’s nipple, the dragon king roared and unleashed a blast of magic that knocked both boys off of the bed. Zarc momentarily looked at what he did before he raced out of the bedroom, not wanting to face those boys any second longer. He threw the doors open and began to race down the hall, wanting to be somewhere, _ anywhere _ that didn’t have those two.

“Are you afraid of us, Papa? Won’t you wrap us in your arms once again?” “Haze” asked. “I missed you so.”

Zarc paused at the weight on his back and the voice in his ear. He turned to his right and saw that Haze, now eight years old, was on his back, like those times he and Haze asked Zarc to pretend he was a mighty dragon and they were riding him around the gardens.

“We missed you,” “Tempest” sobbed, also eight, tugging on Zarc’s leg. “Don’t you love us?”

“I do love you,” Zarc whimpered, the tears freely flowing down his face as he dropped to his knees, unable to take the weight of what’s happening. “I tried everything I could to bring you back, every spell, every invocation but nothing worked. I gave up on any hope of you being in my arms once more. I don’t want to believe in any idea that you’ll return, only to have my heart crushed to pieces again.”

“We’re back, papa,” said “Tempest”. “We’re here now.”

“We’ll never leave you again,” “Haze” promised. Both boys climbed back on Zarc’s lap hugging him. But Zarc didn’t return the hug. Instead he gripped onto his pants, his claws nearly leaving holes into them.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Zarc asked. “I don’t want this…I don’t want to remember…”

“But you want us back Papa, just as we want you,” “Haze” said. 

“To love you again, hug you, gather you in our arms and kiss you, and you to make us dizzy with your love,” “Tempest” sighed. “We missed them so much.”

“I did too…” Zarc said. “I missed you, missed you...but I don’t want to remember any more. I don’t! “ Tears kept down Zarc’s cheeks.

“We don’t want to be forgotten…” “Tempest” wailed.

“How could you?!” “Haze” added. “You never told our little brothers about us…” 

“They didn’t need to know!” Zarc snapped. “I saw them re-enact your rituals, and I didn’t want them to know about you. It was better that they didn’t, better they lived blissfully without having to know about what you suffered from...every single time they saw your statues, I made them forget about it easily. It would’ve been too much heartbreak to know that there were two sons before them, to know that _ they _ were never supposed to exist. If they knew, if they ever found out…” Zarc shook his head.

“But we are back now, Father, we wish to meet them, love them. We’re almost there Father, almost back to you,” “Tempest” whispered.

“Stay away…” Zarc said. “Don’t give me false hope…”

“Father,” “Haze” whispered.

“Father,” “Tempest” echoed.

_ “Why did you keep this secret?” _

Zarc looked up to see his other sons -- Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, Yuri -- staring back at him. They were at their current age, and their eyes were sad.

Zarc was in pain, wanting to hug his sons, to have all of them in his arms. “I didn’t want to hurt you, and I didn’t want to remember how I failed my sons before...you were better off not knowing them anyway!” 

“You lied to us,” Yuri cried. 

“You don’t want us,” Yugo shouted. 

“You don’t love us,” Yuya wailed. 

“You hated us,” Yuto whispered.

“No... “ Zarc said, golden eyes brimming even more with tears. “No that’s not it! Please don’t misunderstand! I loved you all, but this pain was too much for you to take. Too much for me to handle. I didn’t want you to know of this...it would’ve made you feel worse about yourselves.”

“Papa,” “Tempest” whispered, tears filling his eyes.

“Papa!” “Haze” buried his face in Zarc’s chest. 

“You prefer them to us, don’t you?” Yuri said, voice broken and sad. “They were here first. If you had the choice you’d choose them!”

“No! That’s not true! You’re all my children; I love you all equally. I can’t choose, I can never choose.” Zarc pleaded, knowing how hurt Yuri had been, how alone the boy was, starving for love and taking the closest he could get just so he didn’t feel empty anymore.

“You did,” Yugo spat out. “Look at how they cling onto you. How _ they _ call you their father.”

“Yugo, they are my children, as you are,” Zarc cried, extending his hand for the boys, the moment his hand touched Yugo's, his hand turned to dust. “No… No!”

Yugo began to crumble into dust, so did Yuri. Yuto just looked away from Zarc, fading into the shadows. “It was better to be alone…”

“I just...I just wanted my father back…” Yuya sobbed as his body began to break apart like clay.

“My loves...No!” Zarc’s voice was weak and broken as his sons disappeared. He looked down at “Tempest” and “Haze”, but they were starting to shatter. Cracks appeared on their skin, crawling up their arms and legs and onto their faces.

“Papa…” Both dolls cried before they shattered in front of him, leaving behind their clothes and porcelain shards.

…

…

…

“Zarc! Zarc, wake up!”

”No!” Zarc woke up screaming, tears fell down his cheeks as he sat up. That...that was a dream. It was nothing more than a dream.

Yet he could still hear their voices, all of his sons questioning why he said nothing, about if he truly loved them. He hurt his sons...he was a horrible father.

“Zarc,” Ray whispered softly, placing her hands on his tense shoulders before rubbing his back soothingly and pulling him to her. Zarc placed his face in his hands. “Zarc, hey, what’s wrong?” 

Zarc sniffled. “I...I had a horrible dream…” he said. “About my sons.”

“What did you see?” Ray asked, running her hand through Zarc’s hair soothingly. “I’ve never seen you that shaken up before.” 

Zarc took a deep breath, his heart hammering in his ears, and debated not telling Ray what was happening with him, but that would probably increase her worry. Maybe talking about all this insanity will help.

It took Zarc a few more minutes to gather himself, wiping his face from the ever falling tears in his eyes. 

“My sons, all of them are made from half of my soul,” Zarc explained. “But before Yuri, Yugo. Yuto, and Yuya there were two others, Haze and Tempest. Back then my people, duel spirits were in several battles with humans that feared us.”

Ray’s eyes widened; she never knew about two sons prior to those four. 

“One day the humans staged a coup, using several sorcerers, forbidden items and spells they eventually caught Tempest and Haze, and brainwashed them, It took months, but my boys succumbed eventually, and were sent back to me, to kill me. I waited for them, seated at my throne, while they hurled abuse and insults at me. I said nothing and only reminded them of my love, and care. I managed to stop them, for a little bit at least but… they could feel that the magic was still inside of them, still poisoning their minds and hearts. So the two of them ripped out their own souls right in front of me so that they would never hurt me again. I was broken from this. 

“For days I couldn’t do anything but wail and mourn for my beloved sons. My magicians, my servants, could not make me leave my room, where I could never see my sons hugging me, promising to always be my side. I felt so weak, unable to save them from their horrible fate.

“And then one morning, I woke up to four hatchlings on my bed crying for me, wailing, wanting me. I knew they were mine from the moment I heard their cries. My heart ached for them, their souls were my own, their fear and pain was mine to feel. I gathered them in my arms and swore to never let go, that nothing will take them from me again. Tempest and Haze was the hardest thing for me to talk about and remember, so I never told the boys about their older brothers. But now, after all these years, they are haunting me...their voices, their actions, their words, and my mind is breaking every minute.” 

“Zarc, your boys...they should’ve been told,” Ray whispered. “Sooner or later the truth would've been revealed.”

Zarc shook his head. “It still hurts, thinking of them. I tried, tried everything to get them back to me, but I never could find a way. Now they haunt my days and dreams and I don’t know why or how...I just…”

“Just what?”

Zarc sighed. “I just want to know why they’re doing it now.” 

“Maybe because...they really are returning Zarc. Maybe something happened, a cry from the universe, something that...actually brought them back,” Ray said.

“But...how?” Zarc asked.

Ray shook her head. “I don’t know, but, after all this time? That might be the only explanation.” 

Zarc reached towards the bedside table and opened the drawer. There, he pulled out two cards with images that he knew so well. _ Tempest...Haze… _

Zarc looked down and he nearly dropped the cards as if they had been caught on fire. Haze’s wings...were Yugo’s crystal wings with Haze’s colors. How was that even possible? Even the text on the card itself changed.

“What’s wrong?” asked Ray, looking down. “Oh wow...they really look like the boys fused together.” 

Zarc nodded. “Tempest and Haze…” he whispered, looking at the cards in his hand with shaking hands. Ray hugged him to her closely, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. 

“It’ll be alright Zarc. But, maybe you should talk about them more...just what were Tempest and Haze like?” 

Zarc smiled softly and fondly. “Tempest was a brutal warrior in battle but a sweetheart and a romantic when not wielding a sword in hand. He loved strawberries and making sweets for me and his brother. He was better than Haze at combat, even though he was considered the younger twin he would win in a straight up fight against his brother. Haze was cunning and charming, he was a better strategist than Tempest and always liked the warm sun while Tempest loved the cold chill of the night. Tempest was a master of fire, darkness and water. Haze was about the wind, the earth and light. One look from Tempest or one kiss from Haze is all it takes to be under their control. Haze’s venom is strong too, stronger than Yuri’s. Oh Yuri would be completely drugged out of his mind with bliss…”

Zarc chuckled. “Imagine if Tempest and Haze were here now...they’d coo and cuddle their baby brothers. They’d love them as I love them. Tempest loved pretty things... he was a charmer, he had Yuya’s boundless charisma poured not for entertainment but to seduce someone. You can never take your eyes off of him.

“Haze was playful and loving, sadistic and unforgiving when it comes to punishing someone, and let’s just say with him and Tempest play fighting Haze has gotten his own revenge on his brother. My sweet beautiful boys....” 

“You loved them.”

“What parent doesn’t love their children?”

“And you want them back, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“You did everything you could to bring them back.”

“I did,” Zarc said. “A part of me wondered if I had to offer up the little four in order to bring them back. It made me sick to my stomach and so guilty to even so much as think of it. I will not deny it crossed my mind but...but I couldn’t even stand the thought. These four were innocent; they were left as gifts, to heal my soul. They were my own children, similar yet so... so different. And what right did I have to take their anonymity from them? To bring Haze and Tempest back? And at what cost? Their lives were too precious to be traded away for my oldest boys. One child does not substitute for the other and all I would have done is lose four other sons...” A tear fell down his eye. “So I vowed to raise them, my shooting star, dark specter, sparkling jewel and precious lily...and even then I felt like a failure when I saw Yuri so close to breaking, wanting to embrace the hopelessness he had become adjusted to then give into the slight hope that someone loved him.” 

“...that sounds the exact _ opposite _ of what my Father did.” Ray said after a lengthy silence. “You love your sons, you truly do,” she said, hugging Zarc. “My father _ abandoned _ his family, neglected Reiji, sacrificed entire _ dimensions _ to bring me back and never looked at the tragedies his selfishness caused. But you loved and protected your own newly born sons. Why did it have to be _ my _ father who had to be this selfish? Why did he not understand to just leave me be and live the life I wanted him to live?!”

“I don’t know, love,” Zarc replied, kissing the top of her head. “I would like to say it was out of love, but if you love someone you’d _ respect _ their wishes. He didn’t do this out of love he claims to have; he did it out of selfishness he refuses to see. All he did, he wants to believe he did it for you and he didn’t care who got hurt. He would have killed four innocent girls without a care; that alone is far too selfish but he went above and beyond that. Hundreds of children’s hopes of happy childhoods ruined in Fusion, thousands of lives ruined in Synchro and who knows how many people forever traumatized in Xyz? And in the end, he’ll probably be sent into maximum security _ at the least _.”

“I love my father, but I can’t forgive him for what he’s done. Tell me, when you unite the dimensions...will you at least spare him?”

“Oh I’ll spare him,” Zarc said. “But while everyone in our little kingdom lives in peace and feels like nothing is wrong, he will be a madman, stark raving mad, babbling a truth about me and the ‘true’ nature of things. I will make him live alone in prison for a few months as the weight of everything has done comes crashing on him. I will not harm a single hair on his head -- something else he doesn’t have aside from empathy -- but then I will set him free, and allow him to live the rest of his days with everything he needs for humans to survive, with you as my queen, mine all mine, his son, one of my son’s knights.”

“Are you going to wipe away Reiji’s memories?”

“I will, I don’t need rebellions from him. It’s better if he believed that I’ve always been the king of the world. He is a good duelist, he’ll do well protecting and staying by Yuya’s side.” 

“I want to say that it’s wrong, but Reiji...he’s suffered things a kid his age shouldn’t.”

“I promise I’ll make him happier, give him a job that will make him be able to protect the world from threats. And he is your little brother, you’ll get to know him better, him and Reira both. Poor Reira. I have no idea what her problem is, but I bet I’ll be a better parent figure than Himika ever would.”

  
  


“Thank you, Zarc.” 

Zarc smiled and nuzzled Ray. “Of course 

Suddenly, Zarc’s eyes widened as he felt a familiar sensation. One of darkness, but it was...gentle and calm, not like the corrupting force he ruled over.

“Zarc? What is it now?”

Zarc turned to Ray and smiled wide.

“It seems like _ he _ has finally made his presence known. Come, we should go greet him.”

“Greet who?” Ray asked

“You’ll see.” Zarc said, staring at Tempest and Haze’s cards before sadly returning them in the drawer of the bedside table, his heart breaking when he pushed the drawer close. He wanted to see them again, but he knew that more important matters were at hand. “And, just a bit of advice, leave any assumptions you have of him out of the window. He’s quite the...surprising figure.”

“...Huh?”

Zarc chuckled. “Just trust me.”

“Oh, before I forget,” Zarc said, opening a drawer and gathering three boxes, his eyes turned silver for a moment and they disappeared.

“What were those?” Ray asked. 

“Presents,” Zarc told her with a smile. “Come on now, it’s time to go.” 

***************

“All right, you two! _ Donburi _ is here!”

Yugo’s eyes widened at the bowl of teriyaki chicken and egg omelette topping a large serving of rice and with mayonnaise spread out so sweetly. Gongenzaka nodded at his two beef topped rice bowls while Yoko couldn’t wait to devour her rice bowl topped with a deep fried pork cutlet.

“Victory _ donburis _are the best,” Yoko sighed, preparing her chopsticks. “Savor them well, boys cause we aren’t eating this for a while.”

“I, the man, Gongenzaka, am gracious to have you treating us today,” Gongenzaka said. “And for giving me a well fought duel with your Synchro monsters.”

“No, thank you,” Yoko replied. “After all, you wanted to train yourself to be strong and convinced your dad to be more open-minded about reinventing your dojo’s dueling style.” She bowed to him. “Now then let’s…”

Yoko’s eyes suddenly slid to Yugo who had fixed his sights on someone. Yoko followed his line of vision to see a kid looking about sixteen years old with two shades of brown hair, brown warm eyes, wearing faded jeans, a red open jacket with a black T-shirt underneath, stuffing his face with fried shrimp and rice. All in all the kid looked completely...normal.

“Yugo? Is something wrong?” Yoko asked. “Do you know that kid?”

Yugo kept staring at the boy before shaking his head. “I sense something,” Yugo said. “Power.” 

“What?” Gongenzaka asked, not sure what Yugo was talking about.

“Power?” Yoko asked. That didn’t sound good. This kid looked like he was happy eating his favorite food without a care in the world.

“Ah man!” The kid said. “Haven’t had a good bowl of fried shrimp in a while.”

Yugo walked curiously to the boy, looking at him and trying to discern where he had felt that power before and if it was dangerous or malicious. The guy didn’t seem to be, and the power inside of him was calm, not raging, as if he was _ born _to wield that power. 

“I, the man, Gongenzaka, don’t think this is a good idea. I’ll put a stop to this before -- ”

“No,” Yoko said hastily, placing a hand on Gongenzaka’s shoulder. “Trust me when I say that Yugo should approach this guy.”

“And why’s that? For all we know Yugo might be hallucinating. I mean, how exactly do _ you _ know so much?”

“It’s a funny story, but just pretend we’re not looking at him and eat before --” 

“Oh, so you’re with them, huh?”

Yoko looked up to see Yugo with that same boy with the red jacket, waving at them. Yoko placed her face in her hands, wondering what Yugo told him.

Yugo blinked a few times before it hit him swiftly, and gasped. “Haou-sama?” he asked, tilting his head. “Why are you here?” 

“Haou-sa…” Yoko repeated before it came to her. No way. No freaking way. The _ human _ Supreme King of Darkness is this boy?

“I was hoping to talk with your Father, I told him I’d find him as soon as I could,” he said with a happy carefree smile. “I need to get something back from him, I’m actually glad I ran into one of you, this might be easier than I thought.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Yugo.

“Yugo has a father?” asked Gongenzaka. “I thought you said he was an orphan, Yoko-san.”

“Um, he kinda is and he kinda isn’t,” Yoko said, sweating. She already knew what _ Zarc _ was light; what the hell was she going to face with the boy? 

“Well let's say the two of us were working on a …project I suppose, and he has something of mine for safe keeping, but now I want it back.” The boy explained, biting onto another fried shrimp covered in mayonnaise.

“Project?” Yoko asked not sure that she liked the sound of that. I mean, she already knew what Zarc planned on doing when he got his hands on Akaba...

“Can you get him for me?” The brown-haired boy asked. “As much as I’m willing to scour all the fifteen dimensions to find him, it would really be convenient if I could meet him here.” 

“Fifteen what?!” Gongenzaka said, eyes wide. “There’s _ more than four _?”

“SHUSH!” Yoko said, covering Gongenzaka’s mouth. “Don’t aggravate him!”

“He’s not here at the moment,” Yugo said. “But we can take you there after we finish lunch. He’s uh...not here in this dimension right now, but he probably sensed your presence and will be at the LDS school shortly.”

“We?!” Gongenzaka said. “And LDS?!”

Yoko wasn’t happy either. She already had preconceived notions of the so-called Human Supreme King, and none of them were good, but she never expected to meet him this early. And for all intents and purposes, she did believe he’d have an army by his side and try to brainwash people to be his slaves. 

The smile on the red jacket wearing boy’s face got wider. “Thanks! By the way, call me Jaden Yuki. Haou would be a little too confusing and hard to explain in this dimension.” He then waved to Yoko and Gongenzaka. “That goes for you two! Oh and those _ donburi _look delicious!”

Yoko’s eye twitched as she stood up and approached Jaden, slamming her hands on the table. He didn’t seem phased at it at all. “What’s your deal, mister?” she asked.

“Yo-Yoko-kaa-san!” Yugo stuttered trying to calm her down

“Why does a boy like you wield the powers of darkness?” Yoko asked, ignoring Yugo. “Better yet, how exactly are you in _ connection _ with...their dad? And what’s this ‘project’ you’re working on? Is it anything like Akaba’s?!”

At that name, the boy narrowed his eyes and they...flashed gold. Yoko gasped; it was the same gold color like Zarc’s.

Jaden blinked it away, gold eyes becoming brown once more, and regarded Yoko up and down. Shrugging, he answered. “I was born to wield it. And as far as my connections to Zarc are, well, the two of us have been allies for a long time.” 

“Who’s Zarc?” Gongenzaka asked.

Yoko growled and was close to slapping Jaden across the head. “Don’t bring that name up, Jaden,” she said. “And anyway, how did you get here? What dimension are you from? There’s _ fifteen _of them? And are you aware of something called…” Yoko closed her eyes, remembering the term. “’Dragon Vassals’?”

Jaden smiled. “Funny you should mention those; that’s the project that I’ve been working on with...him. I’m here for two of them, well one Dragon Vassel, and one witch.”

“Witch?” Yoko repeated. Okay, that’s it, she needed to get to Zarc now to clarify things. 

“Which Dragon Vassal and which Witch, Haou-sama?” Yugo asked. 

“The Witch is Yubel and the Dragon Vassal is…” Jaden paused, unable to say that name without a pang in his heart forming like a wound. “Well, his real name is Jesse Andersen, or as you would have called him...Johan.” 

“The Prince of the Crystal Kingdom?!” Yugo gasped. 

“I, the man, Gongenzaka, am confused,” Gongenzaka said.

“They’re mine,” Jaden said. “You can consider them my very own treasures,” he explained. “That’s how important the two are to me.”

Yugo nodded his head, realizing what Jaden meant. “I see. ”

“But why would Yugo’s father be at LDS?” asked Gongenzaka. 

“Noboru,” said Yoko. “Please refrain from asking these questions for the time being. I’m not in the mood for this. At all.”

“Yoko Kaa-san, please take your own advice,” Yugo begged. “Father is fond of you...or rather amused. But you really shouldn’t be challenging Supreme Kings of Darkness like they’re actually some teenage boys who’ve been bad, Haou-sama’s power rivals Father in his full powers.” 

“Trust me, a lot of people underestimate me,” Jaden said. “That Professor has no idea what type of power I contain. And it’s a good thing I got off that island as soon as I could; I don’t think it’d be a good idea if I was the one leading the invasion into Heartland.”

“Yoko, save the questions till we get to where Yuya is at,” Yugo pleaded. “I swear, things will make sense then.”

“...Fine,” Yoko said, returning to her seat and scooping rice into her mouth.

“I’m sorry Haou-sama, please forgive her,” Yugo bleaded 

“It’s okay,” said Jaden, waving him off. “So, what’s her last name?”

“Sakaki,” Yoko replied, shoveling more rice to her mouth. “Mother of Yuya Sakaki and apparently of Yuto and Yugo too.”

“Cool! And, gotta say, you look awesome in that outfit. I bet you really know how to ride a motorcycle. I mean, last time I tried one it kinda...crashed. I was kinda running away at the time but still… I do have a friend who had an awesome uh what did he call it...oh yeah! A D-Wheel colored red and a strange red mark on his arm.”

“D-Wheel?” asked Yugo. “Red...mark…So he’s from Synchro?”

“Kinda…” Jaden said. “We met when we were teleported to the past by a giant crimson dragon and we met up with the original King of Games, Yugi Muto. We had to rewind time because the evil guy named Paradox destroyed Domino City -- and he had corrupted the dragons of Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler...and Jesse’s -- in order to make sure the advent of Duel Monsters in the past didn’t escalate into a humongous war in the future where all but -- “

“Time travel is real? Ok, no way!” Yoko said, shaking her head. “I can believe a lot like giant dragons, but time travel is too convoluted and has _ way _too many rules.”

And also she was shocked that Jaden knew Yugi Muto. Yugi of that story from the Orichalcos and Atlantis -- and whom Mieru described when Yoko asked Raphael, Valon and Alister to drop off home safely -- apparently met up with future duelists? Oh god, she had a lot of questions to ask...

“Well you can ask Yusei himself if you meet him, he’s one of the Vassals. He’s got black hair like a crab -- “Jaden imitated crab pincers with his hands -- and a cool yellow mark on his left eye. He also knows Synchro Summoning; like he has this wicked dragon with silver wings and -- “

“Please stop,” Yoko groaned, massaging her temples. “Look, let’s just finish our meals then we can lead you to LDS. You can finally get those two ‘treasures’ of yours back then.”

“Honestly how many dragons are there?” Yoko asked.

“Well there are the legendary five dragons that aided the Crimson Dragon,” Jaden explained. “But there’s one made from the darkness and I think there’s five from Domino City too.”

“Haou-sama, you said you used to be on the island and you could have led the invasion, so does that mean that you have a fusion deck?” Yugo asked.

“Yep,” Jaden said. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. But...that’s not all I have.”

“Wh...what do you mean?” asked Yugo.

“Let’s just say that if the Professor ever got his hands on these four...” Jaden said, patting his pocket. “It’d be quite the disaster for most of us.”

“Note to self,” Yoko muttered as Gongenzaka ate, knowing that this wasn’t his place to butt in. “Ask Serena what she knows about that place when we see her.” 

“But that’s not what I’m here for. So, why don’t we finish our food then head out? I just really can’t wait to get the two of them back.”

“Ah, right!” said Yugo, going back to his rice bowl. “Ah, it looks so good!”

“It’s called a relative bowl,” Yoko chuckled. “Chicken, egg and mayonnaise like mother and child.”

Jaden smiled and went back to eating the rest of his meal, he couldn’t wait to finally reunite with Jesse and Yubel, after all this time.

****************

And in LDS, a dragon vassel with blue hair and orange eyes closed them, and a small soft smile appeared on his face. 

_ You’re back... _ Jesse thought to himself. _ You’re finally back, Jaden... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who would like to know, Tempest and Haze started as an idea when I was coming up with more OC Cards. 
> 
> Tempest came first, as in my mind when I was picturing Yuto my mind up his hair as white instead of Lavender, so an idea was born out of a few RPs and Odd-eyes Raging Dragon. 
> 
> Haze came second to give Tempest and Equal. and I settled on his looks a few days ago only. We hope you liked them.


	18. Chapter 9 (Part 2): Double-Edged Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reiji finally confesses to Yuya of his sins while Serena duels Yaiba in a most...unusual battlefield.
> 
> And Yuto and Shun have their first date, how lovely!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised here is part 2! Thanks for the Reviews! Same condition with part 3.
> 
> So in the previous chapter GPQ wrote the duel all on her own, mostly because I don't like the stiles of either Deck. This time she took the X-Sabers and I took the Lunalights, which are my favorite deck personally, I do use them Irl and I loved using them in this. 
> 
> There will be two more parts both with a duel, then Chapter 10 which we are really really excited to start
> 
> hope you enjoy this one guys!
> 
> (GPQ: To clarify things, both of us have conflicting opinions over Reiji and his actions. Azure is more neutral while I'm more like "YOU ARE A JERK!" towards him. For this story we're trying to give Reiji a neutral stance because it's shown in the anime that he's a TERRIBLE communicator when it's not business and he was essentially all by himself against his father. While that doesn't excuse him for his actions (particularly rewriting the memories of three prominent students) it does make you feel sorry for him)

The walk to LDS was quiet. Yuzu kept holding onto Serena’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Serena was still very nervous and guilt ridden over this slight and she never felt this way before. To her, she’d rather go fight against Battle Beast then confront Masumi and Yaiba.

“Hey,” Yuzu said with a smile. “It’ll be alright, we’re with you, we’ll do anything we can to help.” 

“They’re...they're not going to take it well,” Serena replied.

“They won’t,” said Yuya. “But at the very least telling them what happened will make _ you _ feel better about yourself. It’d be something that should be done, the sooner the better, it’s the right thing.”

Serena sighed and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” 

The three headed towards the school, seeing how many students were talking about how they wanted to stop those “horrible Obelisk soldiers.” Make them pay for what they’ve done. Others mentioned Yuu Sakuragi running away like a coward. A few wondered where Hokuto could’ve gone through, figuring that he’d want to improve his ‘winning streak’, that made Serena’s stomach flip. 

“Excuse me,” said Yuya, asking a student. “Do you know where Masumi and Yaiba are?”

“You wanna deal with Masumi right now?” the student replied. “She and Yaiba are probably down the hall right around now. I’d stay away from her if I were you. She’s not happy about these invaders and all.”

“Something we can all agree on,” Yuya muttered as he led Serena and Yuzu down the hall. Minutes later, they found Masumi and Yaiba in a classroom...and Masumi had been kicking chairs and screaming at something.

“She really is mad…” Yuya said, just as Masumi threw the door to the classroom open. She whipped her head around, pink eyes seeing red.

“You…” Masumi growled, glaring at the three, particularly at Serena. “YOU BITCH!” she slapped Serena right across her face, leaving a red mark on her cheek. 

“Serena!” Yuzu yelled in concern and placed her hand on Serena’s back, wanting to look at the mark. Serena’s hand covered the slap mark on her cheek, her eyes concealed through her bangs. 

“I’m fine,” Serena said, rubbing her cheek. “I handled worse.”

“Masumi, that was absolutely uncalled for!” Yuya exclaimed. 

“You were the one who carded Hokuto, weren’t you?!” The Gem-Knight duelist asked, ready to kick Serena in the ribs. Yaiba was also there, kendo stick ready, biting his bottom lip. 

“I did, and I’m sorry,” Serena apologized.

“Sorry’s not going to bring him back!” Masumi snapped, and Serena flinched. “I can’t believe it. You, this _ Lancer _, actually come from the Fusion Dimension and had the audacity to card my friend?!”

“She didn’t have all the facts back then,” Yuzu defended her. “Yes, she made a mistake but she wants to make up for it now.” 

“That still doesn’t change the fact that she went in, dueled him and turned one of my friends into a card!” Masumi shouted, tears forming in her eyes. “How dare you defend the enemy!”

“How do you know so much about this?” asked Yuya.

“Oh, let’s just say _ I _saved you some trouble by delivering your message,” a very familiar obnoxious voice answered.

Yuya, Yuzu and Serena watched as Shingo exited the classroom, one hand in the pocket of his pants and that smirk on his face.

“Shingo…” Yuzu growled.

“Don’t be so surprised,” Shingo said. “I mean, _ someone _ had to tell them the truth sooner or later.”

"You should've let _us_ do it!" Yuzu snapped. Screw the _harisen_, she wanted to slap him across the face with her hand again.

“I didn’t want to believe him,” Yaiba said. “But everything does make sense. Hokuto never made it for his duel, his parents called us to ask where he went, and it’d be impossible to _ not _ find him because of the hair cut or that constellation on his forehead. Thus the only conclusion was that he had to have been carded...except we all know that Obelisk Force arrived three days ago.”

“Yeah,” Serena said. “I arrived a day prior to them.”

“Why…” Masumi whispered, tugging onto Serena’s jacket. “Why did you card him? What the hell did he ever do to you?!”

“Masumi, calm down,” said Yaiba. “We’re not gonna get answers at this rate.”

“I...I thought he was one of the fugitives from the Xyz Dimension,” Serena explained. “I overheard it from Sora -- “

“Sora from You Show?” asked Yaiba.

“He was acting undercover as a spy for the invasion of our dimension,” Yuya explained. “He was sent to capture Serena and Yuzu, but got distracted and went to duel Shun because he was still mad at his loss.”

“And the _ real _ fugitives from the Xyz Dimension were Yuto and Shun Kurosaki,” Serena added, feeling horrible when she recalled what Obelisk Force _ really _ did to Heartland. 

“So wait, your great plan in order to find the fugitives was just seeing _someone_ using Xyz Summoning and you immediately thought, ‘Ha! I’m gonna card you, you piece of shit!’” Yaiba said. "I mean, you left even before Sora even explained who these 'fugitives' were? Talk about reckless."

Serena stepped back. “If you put it that way…”

“Also, Academia, I _ know _ you’re lying,” Masumi said, voice seething with rage. “Shun Kurosaki is a proud student of LDS.”

“What?!” asked Serena. “Shun is from the Xyz Dimension. He came here with Yuto in order to get Reiji’s attention.”

“Listen here you,” Masumi said, grabbing Serena’s sleeve and pulling the purple haired girl to her. “I know you’re lying. I’ve known Shun for a year and I would _ know _ if he was really from the Xyz Dimension like you said.”

“That’s enough!” A voice yelled, making Masumi let Serena go. Everyone turned to see Reiji approaching them, Reira by his side. “Let her go. She’s telling the truth.”

“Reiji this...this Academia student is just telling lies!” Masumi exclaimed. “She carded Hokuto and is telling us that Shun is from the Xyz Dimension. There’s no way that could possibly -- ”

“She’s telling the truth,” Reiji interrupted. “Shun Kurosaki was never a student at LDS.”

“What do you mean?” asked Yaiba.

“Think very carefully,” Reiji explained. “What do you really know about Shun? Do you know where he lived?“

“...No.” Yaiba frowned.

“Shun came from Xyz and wanted to get my attention, so he was carding people, partly to get my attention and partly because the war gave him a hatred of Fusion duelists,” said Reiji. “And, Masumi, you know that teacher? Professor Marco?”

“Of course,” Masumi said. “He’s the lead teacher in Fusion Summoning.”

“Have you not noticed that he has gone missing for some time?”

“Y...yeah, I have but what do you…”

“You went out searching for him,” Yuzu explained. “And you even got in Shun’s face demanding answers. In fact, just last week you, Hokuto and Yaiba dueled him to get answers. And I’m guessing that in his attempt to get Reiji's attention, he carded that Professor.”

“Wait...he...that Xyz duelist _ carded Professor Marco _?!” Masumi said.

“Yes,” Reiji nodded. 

“But...but I don’t understand,” Masumi said, holding her head. Reiji sighed.

“Of course you and Yaiba and Hokuto wouldn’t,” Reiji replied, his voice bitter as he added, “Because I _ made _ you forget that happened.”

At that, everyone in that group, looked at Reiji. Even Shingo had no words to say.

“You _ changed _ our memories?” Yaiba gasped, dropping his kendo stick to the floor.

“I did... “ Reiji answered as Masumi balled her hands into fists, her whole body trembling. “I know that -- “

“You CHANGED OUR MEMORIES?!” Masumi shouted, grabbing Reiji and shoving him to the wall. “You made me think that Shun was an _ ally _ when he did the same despicable things as Academia did?!"

“I needed your cooperation, and I knew with everything Shun did you wouldn’t accept him, so yes I changed your memories," Reiji explained. 

“That’s bullshit and you goddamn know it,” Shingo said in disgust. Yuya raised his eyebrow at that; this was pretty serious if _ Shingo _ was commenting on Reiji’s BS.

“So you just took all three of us, wiped our brains and you thought that we’d just _ go along _ with this, oh great puppeteer?” Masumi growled. “How many other students have you done this to?”

“Just you three.” Reiji answered.

“Yeah because it would be kinda impossible to have a school of almost _ a thousand _recognize that there was a Raidraptor duelist of such skill,” Yuzu remarked.

“No one questioned it. It was easier that way, and I am sorry, I really am. You did deserve to know the truth," Reiji said glumly.

“....” Masumi just turned away before screaming and punching the wall next to Reiji’s face. Yaiba immediately went to Masumi’s side as she looked at her bruised knuckles.

“That’s low,” Yaiba muttered.

“I don’t know what to feel except being very disappointed at you, Reiji Akaba,” said Yuzu. “You’re our leader and for better or worse, we are putting our trust into you. And how exactly can we follow you into battle if you decide that erasing memories and keeping secrets like this is the best that you can do? I mean, do you even _ care _ for us at the slightest?”

Reiji closed his eyes, the light reflected on the lenses hiding them. “I’m sorry. I just… I didn’t know what else to do.”

“That is no excuse,” Shingo remarked. 

“Says the guy who decided to tell Masumi and Yaiba about Hokuto instead of letting _ us _ handle it?” Yuzu asked. “You don’t get a say in this, you told them not to make them feel better but to make your bruised ego just _ a little _ bit better and want Serena punished. This isn’t about you so stay out of this.” 

“We all made mistakes, some more than others,” Yuya said, glaring at Shingo and glancing at Reiji. “But we shouldn’t let that distract us when there is a bigger picture to be seen. The best we can do is start healing and move on.”

“That’s right. I know we’re all scared and we hardly trust each other but we all have the same goal, to beat Academia and have all the dimensions live in peace.” 

“Yuzu is right,” said Yuya. “Besides, from what Yuzu told me, we honestly have no chemistry. The difference between us and Obelisk Force -- aside from our cards -- is that they’re trained to work together. The fact that many of us _ survived _ is a miracle. But those guys retreated and they’re going to report their failures to Professor Akaba so now he’s going to make sure to prepare _ them _ for the next time we fight.

“Reiji, this ragtag team of your ‘best duelists’ isn’t going to be enough. Synchro is probably not going to be enough either, especially if we’re this mentally divided and focusing on more than one thing.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Shingo.

“Yugo told me everything,” said Yuya. “The city is divided into two classes: Tops and Commons. It’s run by this old council and the Head of Security, Jean-Michel Roget. The Tops will be apathetic to our cause and the Commons are more worried about making it to tomorrow. Plus are they also going to believe that there are other dimensions out there? Heck, Academia could invade them right now, and the only thing that matters is that the part of the city the Tops lives in now resembles that of the Commons.”

“We need a way to win their hearts and minds,” Yuzu said. “Bring them together so they are willing to help us.” 

“Yeah good luck with that,” Yaiba replied.

“No, Yugo mentioned a tournament coming up,” Yuya said. “The Friendship Cup -- where duelists from both Tops and Commons come together and duel to become the new Duel King (or Queen). If we join the tournament while telling everyone about the dimensional war, perhaps we can get some people to forget about their problems and join us. It’s not going to be easy though.”

“We’ll figure something out when we get there,” Reiji said. “Now, Yuya...I need to talk to you about something in private.”

Shingo was about to say something, probably about all the attention Yuya was getting, but Yuzu and Serena glared at him and he immediately shut up.

“Sure,” Yuya said and followed Reiji into a separate classroom, Reira behind them.

“So, Academia,” Masumi said, turning to Serena and Yuzu. It was just so _ weird _ to see them together. “We still don’t forgive you, or trust in your intention, so you have to prove it to us.”

“Prove it how?” Serena asked. 

“I guess with a duel. A duelist’s true intentions come out when they duel. Just as Sora showed his true colors against Shun, you’ll show yours in this duel.”

“I knew that kid was up to something,” Yaiba muttered. “If he was _ truly _ a student of You Show, he would’ve gone and dueled me. But still, Gongenzaka gave me a good fight and I did teach him Synchro pretty well, am I right?”

“Hmph,” Shingo said. “Serena can try all they want, but there’s no way her weak monsters are going to go off against the best of the best.”

“We’ll have to see for ourselves,” said Yaiba, picking up his kendo stick. “I just got medically cleared to duel again, and since we’re off fighting Fusion freaks from that crazy dimension, I wanna see just how good you are, Serena.”

“Fine then,” Serena replied. “I wanna see Synchro up close and personal.”

“Then it’s settled,” said Yuzu. “We should see if any of the duel courts are available. Let's go.”

…

…

...

“So Reiji, what do you want to talk about?” Yuya asked when the two of them, along with Reira, were in the secluded classroom. 

Reiji sat on one of the desks, not sure how to approach this. This has been something he had dreaded since Day 1, when Yuya proclaimed he’d duel in his father’s place and the audience laughed at him. 

“Yuya, I am...sorry,” he began. “For everything you went through in the last three years. It was never my intention… never my intention for you, your mother or your father’s Duel School to go through any of this. I tried to help the best I could but...I can’t change the mind of an entire city.”

Yuya narrowed his eyes. So this _ was _ about Reiji letting Yusho go to the Fusion Dimension.

Reiji took a deep breath. “Three years ago after I came back the first time from the Fusion Dimension...After my Father forced me back and I found out about his true intentions I decided to form the Lancers. Since our fathers worked together to build the Solid Vision technology, and because Yusho was the best duelist of our ‘dimension’, I asked him to train the students who would become the future soldiers to penetrate the defenses of Academia. Unfortunately, he thought of another idea: he would go to my father himself and convince him to not go through with it. Reluctantly, against my better judgement, I let him go. I didn’t realize what I did until I saw the entire audience laugh at you the next morning.”

“...” Yuya said nothing, but he was doing all he can to not let these emotions spill out towards his brothers. He already knew from his mother and Zarc the truth, but hearing this all from Reiji still hurt.

“I had no way to contact Yusho these past three years; for all I know, he’s probably dead,” Reiji said, looking regretful. “I wish he was here now; he’d probably be doing a better job getting people to come together for this cause, even though he was never the violent type. I’m hardly qualified for doing this Yuya, and I think it’s clear, but there is no one else that can do this job right now.

“You have the right to be angry at me. I made you suffer through this agony and all I could do was just give you a bit of money to keep yourselves afloat. That day my mother wanted to buy your school was me trying to extend an olive branch towards you, as a way of saying how I knew I put you through so much. I know how my words came out...wrong... but we both could see now that your school was suffering, and if You Show Duel School continued as it was, Academia would have demolished it. I wanted to help train you and Yuzu to learn other summoning methods to better protect yourselves.” 

Yuya bit his lip, doing his best not to reveal his fangs. Tears filled his eyes at how Reiji knew, how he _ knew _ everything and did nothing.

“I meant every word I said about Yusho in our duel,” Reiji continued. “I respect him, respect him more than I do my own father. I couldn’t disagree with him. He was the better duelist, he was an adult, I was a thirteen year old with technology who had no one to help him. I trusted Yusho’s judgement.

“Yet at the same time, I was responsible for my _ in _ action.. I should’ve done better to help you. I should’ve told you at the very beginning, but I didn’t know how to tell you or your mother, or if you would even believe me. I saw the footage from the Battle Royale. I know how skilled of a fighter your mom is, and looking back, having me punched in the face from her would probably hurt _ less _ than finally revealing everything out like this,” Reiji shook his head at that. “Everyone called Yusho the coward when he was a man taking on something bigger than himself while _I’m_ praised as the leader who bravely charges into battle with my Synchro, Fusion and Xyz summoning by my side. And look at me now! Every single school Leo Corp. has bought wants my head, I have concerned parents questioning what else I’ve been hiding, some threatening to withdraw their children from the duel schools because they weren’t signed up for war! No, they were taught to duel! And I took advantage of Shingo’s injury to get your cards. I’m horrible...I’m just like my Father.”

Reiji sighed, tears forming in his eyes. “I am sorry Yuya, for messing things up. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I don’t deserve _ anyone’s. _I didn’t tell you any of this to make you pity me. You deserved to know about this.”

Yuya was silent, doing his best not to disturb Yuto’s date, Yugo and his happy times with Yoko or Yuri with whatever he was going through in Academia. He was heavily conflicted. On one hand, Reiji was just a boy trying to play the role of a king. On the other, Reiji just stood there while letting Yuya cry his heart out for three years.

Yuya looked at Reiji, CEO of Leo Corp, three-time winner of the Arc League Championship Junior Division, master of all the Extra Deck summoning styles. He never saw Reiji this small or vulnerable before. He always looked larger than life to Yuya. Older, smarter, better. Now, Reiji was guilt ridden and bone tired too, doing the best he could even as the entire world was chewing him out. No child shouldn’t have to go through this. 

Yuya placed his hands on Reiji’s shoulders. Reiji looked up and Reira looked in concern; wasn’t Yuya angry at what he found out?

“It’s okay,” Yuya said softly and Reira looked up at Yuya, Reiji raised his head showing the unshed tears trying to fall. “You made a lot of mistakes, but you’re still a kid too Reiji, you should never have…” Yuya shocked his head. “You should never have had to make any of these decisions. Yusho...Yusho should have thought better about his actions, he had a duty to his family to tell us, tell mom where he was going yet he just went silently like a ghost from our lives like we mean nothing to him. I don’t blame you. I understand what you’ve gone through." Reiji looked up, confused but Yuya continued. "Your father abandoned you and you don’t know why. He planned an invasion and you thought it was your duty to oppose him because no one else will, because no one would have believed a thirteen year old kid. When we see him, when we see Yusho, I will give him a piece of my mind.”

“I highly doubt Yusho is _ alive _ at this point,” Reiji sighed. “I separated a family for three years and all the money in the world won’t bring him back.”

“You didn’t separate us, it was Yusho’s decision to go. Your idea of him training the Lancers was the right one. Yusho was just too optimistic, and I don’t even think your father would have listened to him like Yusho thought he would. Besides, Yusho is alive.” Reiji’s eyes widened in surprise at that. “Yuto told me; he was found in Heartland and stayed there for three years, but he doesn’t know what happened to him when the Invasion started.”

“And yet Heartland was still…”

“Yusho could have only made a tiny difference,” Yuya said. “He could’ve trained the students as best as he could, but all it would do is make Heartland have _ less _ casualties. Yusho doesn’t think much about a war. I don’t think he actually thought about Akaba sending anyone really even though he knew it. He taught people to have fun, and while I do admire that, he didn’t prepare them, didn’t tell them that it was coming. If there are a lot of people in that dimension angry at him, the anger would be justified.”

“And you don’t...blame me?” Reiji said, voice tired and broken.

“No, I don’t blame you Reiji,” Yuya said. “I’m hurt, and my mother will be too when she finds out about this, that this was kept for so long, but I’m not blaming you. Things were out of your hand and you did the best you could. You were alone and afraid,. Your mother didn’t do anything, you were all alone and no one was going to believe you about what happened. As for me, I had Yuzu, my mom and Gongenzaka to keep me up; you had no one. ”

“I was there…” Reira whispered.

Yuya looked down. “Yes, you were, but you wouldn’t have been able to comfort Reiji, right?” 

“...” Reira was a little surprised she was heard or that Yuya paid attention to her at all. 

“You’re a kid too Reira, younger than Reiji,” said Yuya. “You need Reiji more than he needs you, right? I mean, it’s brave of you to comfort Reiji as it is, but it wasn’t enough. It was just too much responsibility for either of you. Reiji...you’re not used to telling anyone your feelings, are you?”

“No,” and Reiji was honest about that. How he managed to not tell this to anyone for three years would’ve made any normal person scream at the top of their lungs.

“You’re not a god, or a king. You’re a kid, you’re just sixteen and thrust into this tragedy. I recognize you made mistakes, and I understand your intentions were good. I guess what they say is true, ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’” Yuya patted Reiji’s shoulder. “I forgive you. I wish to help you. You’re not cut out to be the leader; it’s way too much for you.”

“I appreciate you forgiving me, but there’s no one who can take the role of leader.”

“There is.”

“...!”

“There is someone in Synchro, older, he knows all about leading. His name is Zarc,” Yuya explained.

. 

“Zarc?” Reiji whispered the name, remembering the pictures of Serena and Yuri and under them the names ‘Ray’ and ‘Zarc’. 

“It’ll be awhile until we can physically meet him, but Yugo can get in contact with him once we make it to Synchro. He’s … he’s Yugo’s big brother.”

(That wasn’t a real lie. Zarc could pass off as their big brother. It fooled Ray for years after all)

“Then why didn’t he join Yugo to this dimension?” Reiji questioned.

“Yugo’s trips were sudden, he couldn’t control them," Yuya answered. "All he knew was that Rin was kidnapped and the next thing he knew he was in Heartland. After that he reached Standard, and he still has no idea how that happened.” 

“I see. And Zarc is skilled in Synchro?”

“Yes, powerful. One of the best duelists you’ll ever meet.”

“And you think he’ll be capable of leading all of us?” Reiji frowned, going through the duel records of the first ‘wave’ of Lancers. They were all good, but it’s just like Yuya said, they don’t know how to work _ together _. 

“Zarc is good, Yugo said he’s charismatic and can get you to listen to him easily.”

“Just like Yusho.”

“Except _ unlike _ Yusho, he will stick around and be patient with all of us.” Yuya growled that last part before shaking his head when he saw Reiji’s eyes widen, a little afraid. “Eh sorry. I promise, Zarc will help you, at the very least he will take a lot of the burdens off your shoulder. Of course, as Yugo said, you have to make a convincing argument to the Council about our presence. I mean, we have duelists that don’t use Synchro. That’s going to cause lots of suspicion. Just...think of it like a business deal.”

Reiji thought for a bit before nodding his head. “I think I can do that, the Friendship Cup is to entertain people. correct? Well, what’s more entertaining than dueling methods never seen before?” 

“There’s also one more thing,” said Yuya. “Duelists in Synchro ride specialized vehicles called D-Wheels. According to Yugo, it was originally a way for people in Commons to have fun. Then the Tops took that away and made it much more fun to televise Commons fleeing in terror and treated as animals.”

“I can make the argument to give each of you or us the necessary equipment.”

“And one last thing,” said Yuya. “I have no doubt that your father might have someone from Academia working undercover. He’s going to contact them about me, Yuto, Yugo, Yuzu and Serena...hell, all of us actually! The six of us along with Shun and Gongenzaka have one goal in mind so you don’t have to worry, and we can easily communicate together, but you need to make sure Shingo isn’t in the way or being a glory hog. Keep an eye on Dennis, too. We have a bad feeling that we can’t trust him. Oh and before I forget, my mom is joining us.”

“I’ll have Tsukikage keep an eye on Dennis,” Reiji said. “Tsukikage is loyal to Leo Corp., so I trust him. But wait...your mother is joining us?”

Yuya nodded. “Yeah, she’s not going to sit back and watch me head off alone. She’s actually learned Synchro from Yugo and she’ll also be able to keep us in line. But back to Tsukikage, his brother, Hikage, is okay. So why isn’t he joining us?”

“Hikage explained that he doesn’t deserve to join us since he lost and had to be protected by Teppei, Michiyo and Yuzu. He said that he will help train a line of defense in Standard. It is a way to regain his honor.”

“Oh and do you know what happened to those Ryopanzaku students?”

Reiji shook his head. “Nothing was heard from Ken or Makoto, so I assume that they were carded. And I’ve had no clue what happened to Kachidoki either after your spar. I have to admit, that Xyz Dragon of yours was quite...interesting and a unique way to stop Kachidoki’s attacks.”

“It was...cute,” Reira said, recalling the large black dragon shyly looking at everyone who applauded him before chasing and licking Kachidoki like it was a giant puppy. “I’d...like to meet him,” she said meekly.

“Meet him?” Yuya asked, tilting his head. Reira looked away shyly. 

“Reira has a few...gifts,” Reiji explained. “She sees spirits...duel spirits. I conducted a test and let Reira summon a monster using the Arc technology, I watched her talk with them for hours, so I tend to believe her on things like that. It’s...another reason my mom sees her as the perfect ‘weapon’,”

“Oh I see. You’re really special, Reira,” Yuya said, patting her head, smiling widely. Reira blushed at that. 

“You don’t find that strange or unbelievable?” Reiji asked. He honestly was expecting Yuya to laugh at that after hearing the story of Yusho’s disappearance. Instead, Yuya laughed and shook his head. 

“I believe her,” Yuya said, sincerely with a nod. “I can talk to spirits too, and Black Mirror Dragon would love to meet you. He’ll adore making new friends.” 

Reira’s eyes widened at how she saw herself approaching this strange dragon with cracked mirror eyes and dark wrought iron body. He looked menacing, but his spirit was pure and only wanted to befriend everyone.

“Also, if it’s not too much trouble...Reira is your...sister, right?” Yuya was quite shocked to know that Reira was a girl.

Reiji bowed his head. “Not by blood. Reira was found in a war-torn country, all alone and her parents dead. My mother ‘adopted’ her and saw that she had potential to become a great duelist, grooming her to become a weapon to fight off against my Father. Mostly to spite him.”

“She looks a lot like you with the silver hair and all. I would never have guessed. And the camera deck?”

“My idea,” Reiji said, recalling the day he handed Reira her first camera. “As a way of helping her develop a sense of self. She has another ability to take on the identity of others instead of her own, so I was hoping like gathering fragments that she would develop her own way and personality.”

“That does explain her deck choice,” Yuya said, recalling the duel against Ayu. “But your mother is that controlling over Reira? Never allows her to make friends or do anything fun?” 

“Mother wanted Reira as a weapon against my Father. She sees her as nothing but that. So when I become of legal age I’ll hopefully take custody of my sister as soon as I am able to do so. I want Reira to grow up with a happy childhood, away from my mother’s controlling ways.” 

“You’re really taking up a lot,” Yuya whispered.

Reiji smiled softly at Yuya. “It’s really nice telling someone finally. It’s just a lot of things getting off my chest,” Reiji hugged Reira closer to his side. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me. And, to be honest, I do respect your idea to make people smile...if only life was that simple. Once this is over and we win, I want to help you achieve your dream Yuya, to spread smiles through dueling. It’s going to be a long way to achieve that, but you have my word, I’ll do all that I can.”

Yuya smiled and bowed. “Thank you Reiji.”

Suddenly, Reiji’s phone started beeping. Reiji pulled it out from his pocket and placed it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Reiji-san,” Nakajima replied. “Those new Pendulum cards you wanted are complete. They’re ready to be tested now.”

Reiji nodded his head as an idea formed in his mind. “All right, I’ll be there to pick them up. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” He hung up and then looked at Yuya. “Yuya…”

“Yeah?” Yuya asked.

“Serena is going to need something to distinguish herself as someone not just from Academia, correct?”

“Uh huh,” Yuya said with a nod. 

Reiji smirked. “Then I think I have just the thing for her.” 

  
  


***********

The portal of shadows opened and Shun found himself at the front gates of a large castle, behind him and Yuto was a thick green forest. At the iron gates, two guards stood there. One had teal armor and an amethyst eye -- the other one was gone, given the large slash over it -- and the other stood a head taller in cobalt armor and sand colored bangs.

“Timaeus, Critias,” Yuto greeted them

“Your highness,” the two knights greeted Yuto with a bow, each placing one of their hands on their hearts. Shun blinked. Weren’t these the two knights from the story of Atlantis?

“Welcome home,” Timaeus said with a warm smile on his face.. 

Critias then turned to Shun and smirked. “You are a treasure of Prince Yuto, aren’t you?”

Shun’s eyes widened a bit and he nodded his head.. “Y-yes, I am one of his treasures. But...you’re the legendary dragon knights, aren’t you? Along with Hermos.”

“Yes, you are correct,” Timaeus answered with a soft smile. “You’ve heard of us then?” 

“The Orichalcos manifested yesterday and tried to take over a previous host,” Yuto explained, causing Timaeus and Critias to look in alarm. “My brother, Yugo defeated it. It was already weakened but it thought it could control him. So I explained the story to Shun later and, well, he was surprised to learn so much about the trials of the spirit world.”

“So you can all transform into dragons?” Shun questioned.

“Correct," said Critias. "Fully grown dragons of our kind can transform into full dragons. The young princes are not grown up yet so they can only show off different traits.” 

Shun looked at Yuto in awe as Yuto showed off his horns, wings, tail and fangs, looking so beautiful and deadly. 

“Father is massive, even bigger than them in their dragon forms,” Yuto told Shun. “Now then, Timaeus, Critias, will you let us pass? My treasure and I have a...date.”

“Ah, young love,” Timaeus chuckled. “Of course your highness, have fun.” 

The gates opened and Yuto led Shun inside. Shun looked up, his breath taken away at the castle. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. The castle was made of white marble, with blue shingles on the roofs of the four towers. The gardens were buzzing with life and there were multiple servants tending to the castle grounds.

Yuto giggled, grabbing Shun’s hand and leading him towards the castle doors. “Come on I wanna show you my room,” he said running with Shun’s hand in his before stopping. “Oh,” he said.

“Something wrong?” Shun asked. 

Yuti looked at his clothes. “We’re on a date, I want to change my clothes for that.”

“Wh-what for? You look great, Yuto.” 

Yuto smiled. “I just wanna look good for you.”

Shun’s face went a little red. Yuto smiled, “Come here,” he said and pulled Shun to him as he pressed his back to the wall and pulled Shun closer kissing him...just as a small blue Dragonmaid with a fresh pile of laundry walked by and screamed at seeing them, dropping her work onto the ground. 

Shun was startled at the sound and turned his headm ready for attack. Yuto chuckled and placed his palm on Shun’s cheek, tilting the older boy’s head to him. “Don’t worry, it’s just one of the maids, focus on me,” Yuto whispered and pulled Shun closer for another deep kiss.

Shun groaned, and he knew Yuto smelled different. It wasn’t the soap or shampoo from the shower, but it was all the more alluring. It smelled like black cherries. 

Shun could feel eyes on him and he didn’t need to look to see some Dragonmaids and a few other women squealing at the sight. “Can we be alone?” he asked. 

Yuto smiled softly. “Alright, come with me,” he said as he pulled Shun with him into the shadows, squeezing his hand. They soon reached a hallway, with large black doubles doors, decorated with amethysts around its sides. Yuto opened the doors, letting Shun in. 

Shun’s eyes widened as he entered the still darkened room, small beautiful lights were shining from the ceiling like a never ending sky. 

“Are we outside?” Shun asked. 

“No this is my room,” Yuto said from somewhere inside the room. He opened the curtains and light poured in making Shun gasp at what he said. 

“Your room?” he repeated. The furniture looked so high-classed. There was a bed that could fit five people, a black wardrobe sitting in the corner, some paintings, and even a few chairs and a table for tea. 

“We’re dragons,” Yuto said, approaching his wardrobe and opening it. “Now...what to wear?” Yuto glanced back at Shun. “Don’t just stand there, get comfortable, sit somewhere.”

Shun looked around and sat at the chair, staring at the books sitting in the center. Out of curiosity, he opened one and...had no idea what it was saying. He could see images of dragons and other creatures but he couldn’t tell whether it was a textbook or a collection of stories.

Yuto smiled as he kept looking for something nice to wear for Shun.

The door suddenly opened startling Shun and Yuto. “PRINCE YUTO!!!” A Dragonmaid with yellow hair and a tail yelled cheerfully, picnic basket in hand as she burst into the bedroom. “Tillroo prepared this for your date and I wanted to deliver it personally!”

Yuto smiled, taking the basket. “Thank you Parla, and give my thanks to Tillroo as well. It’s so nice seeing you ladies again looking so well.”

“Ooh the witches and other Dragon Vassals are so excited to see you!” Parla squealed. “The ball last night was nice but we wished you were there.”

“Ball?” Yuto asked.

“Yes, ball!” Parla exclaimed. “Ah, King Zarc and his lovely wife were so beautiful and all the Vassals and Witches looked so extravagant! The food was delicious too!”

“Wife?” Shun asked.

At Yuto blinking, Parla tilted her head. “You didn’t know?” she gasped before placing a hand over her mouth. “F-forgive me your highness.” She said with a bit of panic. 

“No that’s alright," said Yuto. "Father would have told us but I think he got distracted. I’d love meeting the rest of the Witches and Dragon Vassals when my date is over.” 

“Witches?” Shun questioned, now agreeing with Yoko about an encyclopedia. 

“Yes, witches!” Parla said. “They’re thirteen ladies from the past who had horrible horrible lives, and so Zarc resurrected them and gave them power to fight off what Fate dished out.” She then giggled. “Oh my, Prince Yuto...your treasure is just so _ cute _! Don’t let Chame enter, she probably will want to know when you two will ‘play paddycake’.”

“Play what?” Shun asked, confused. 

Yuto snorted. “That one honestly doesn’t make sense, and I would rather have Nasary cooing over us like we were children then Cham wondering about our bedroom activities.”.

“Oh,” Shun said, eyes wide and face flushed. 

Yuto laughed. “We’ll be in the garden as soon as I find something nice to wear, I don’t want anyone disturbing us unless it’s the highest of emergencies or Father himself is calling.” 

“As you wish, your majesty,” Parla said with a bow before skipping out of the room and closing the door. Yuto sighed before he returned to his wardrobe.

“Hmm...Alright, close your eyes Shun," he said to his treasure.

Shun closed his eyes, unsure what to expect. It took a few minutes until Shun felt Yuto’s soft lips kissing him. “You can open your pretty eyes now, Shun.”

Shun slowly opened his eyes, Yuto gave him a soft smile and backed away slightly. “Well? What do you think?” Yuto asked with a coy smile, dressed in a long flowing robe with sleeves covering his hands, in shades of black and purple with grey trim and a silver diadem with an amethyst topping his head.

“You look...magnificent…” Shun whispered breathless.

Yuto’s face beamed and Shun could feel his heart hammering in his chest. Yuto looked amazing, beautiful, breathtaking, several other adjectives that didn’t give Yuto justice. Yuto ame closer to him once more and placed a kiss on his lips, before trailing his own over his cheek and placed a kiss behind his ear, making Shun shiver. He extended his hand and Shun took it and Yuto grabbed the picnic basket with his free hand.

“Shall we go?” 

Shun nodded, his mind pretty much short circuiting with everything that was happening. The two of them walked though several hallways, to a point Shun thought that they were lost, he sure as hell had no clue when they'd reach the place.

It took a few more minutes until Yuto opened a door and the sunlight shined inside, the ground was green green grass and with rose bushes, flowers of several kinds, fruit trees and ivy everywhere…

“Wow,” Shun breathed. 

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Yuto asked and Shun nodded eyes looking at all the beautiful colors 

They reached a large tree with magenta leaves and sat under its shadow, in the basket there was a small blanket that out before he and Shun sat down, and started to spread the food that was in the basket. Sandwiches, a bowl of strawberries, a few peaches, a thermos of hot soup, and even a homemade apple pie with a small tub of vanilla ice cream.

The two of them sat together just enjoying each other’s company, Shun shyly laid down and placed his head in Yuto’s lap, making Yuto beam happily at him, and start running his hand through Shun’s hair making him sigh happily. 

Yuto took one of the strawberries and brought it to Shun’s lips, Shun opened his mouth and ate it, before Yuto’s lips closed on his with a loving kiss. 

When they broke the kiss, Shun realized something. “Yuto…”

“Yeah?”

“You know, you_ were _ acting a little weird this morning.”

Yuto blinked at him a little confused. “How so?”

“It’s nothing big really, but you and Yuya were acting as if what you were doing was an everyday thing, aside from Yuya’s apparent new love for strawberries, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you give your brothers any nickname.”

“I haven’t?” Yuto asked and Shun shook his head. 

“Also I’ve never heard any of you calling Yugo ‘Gentle mist’. Mostly it was 'Crystal' which was more of Lord Zarc’s name for him. It’s nothing big, but I did notice that's all.” 

“Hmm,” Yuto hummed in contemplation. “I suppose it is a little weird, thinking back I don’t remember doing these things before either, but on the other hand they feel too natural to be new habits. It’s not hurting anyone so I don’t see why I would stop it, but if someone else points it out I’ll keep a mental note.”

“You did say Lord Zarc seemed worried,” Shun said. 

“He did, he’s asleep now, Ray told him to get some rest. And speaking of that, have some rest now. I promise to keep an eye on you until you wake up.” 

Shun nodded, smiling softly. Yuto beamed happily at him giving a few more pecks and kisses all over his lips, cheeks and forehead making Shun giggle and look up at Yuto with adoration, he sighed happily and nuzzled to Yuto’s hand, then closed his eyes enjoying the peace with no worry for now at least…. 

Well, barring a few Dragonmaids giggling at the sight. After all, Yuto never said that they couldn’t observe.

***********

At the Central Court, Serena watched various LDS students dueling one another. It reminded her too much of all the military drills in Academia, except that those who lost weren’t looked down on by the opponent. Here the LDS students were giving advice instead of being derated, put into life threatening situations as “training” or hauled off to fight off Battle Beast. Even the instructors didn’t shout or yell at their mistakes. 

“They’re acting quite different today,” Yuzu said, recalling how she knew most if not _ all _ students from LDS liked looking down on others.

“That’s because they realized that it’s pointless to think about who’s better,” Yaiba said.

“Well of course because everyone knows that _I’m_ the best of them all!” Shingo boasted. 

“This is coming from someone who got his ass handed by Yuzu’s Xyz Monster?” Serena asked while Shingo turned red in the face.

“You know Xyz too, Yuzu?” asked Masumi.

“Yeah,” said Yuzu, showing off her Duel Disk and pulling out the new Melodious Xyz monster. 

“Where did you get that?” Yaiba asked. 

“Heh. Can’t tell you that, it’s my secret,” Yuzu said with a wink. “Now, I wonder what’s taking Yuya so long?”

“Yuzu!” 

Yuzu turned around to see Yuya approaching them with a wave of his hand, Reiji and Reira close behind. When Yuzu looked at Reiji, she couldn’t put her finger on it but he seemed...more relaxed than usual.

“Hey,” Yuzu said. “Everything okay?” . 

“Yeah, we aired a few things out,” Yuya answered.

“Oh? That’s good…”

“I’ll tell you later,” Yuya promised. “Reiji has something for Serena though.” 

“Something for me?” Serena asked. 

“Why is Academia getting treated so nicely all of a sudden?” Masumi asked, narrowing her eyes.

“She has a name you know,” Yuzu said. 

“Serena,” said Reiji, handing the Lunalight duelist two cards in his hand. “I wished to see you try these out. She is fighting in Synchro, and as Yuya pointed out to me, we need to grab their attention, Serena needs something that would distinguish her from just being a fusion user.”

Serena looked at the cards and gasped when she saw the green bottom borders and arrows. “These are…”

“Pendulums?!” Everyone shouted.

“Hang on a second, why is she getting Pendulums?” asked Shingo. “Who approved of this?!”

“I did,” Reiji said, glaring at Shingo. “After all, _ who’s _ the one running the company that makes Duel Monsters again?”

“Y...you are,” Shingo gulped.

“And I suggest you start working on the cards you _ have _ before you start making accusations,” Reiji added. “Because you’re going to be with them for a while.”

“Those look amazing!” said Yuzu. “Say, why don’t you duel for all of us!”

“Really?” Serena asked, flustered. 

“Yeah! Show them how strong you are with the Lunalights!”

“I...I don’t know…” Serena said. Usually she would be proud to showcase her skills, but after what she’s done... “I mean, I am from -- “

“You’re from Academia, but you _ aren’t _ Academia,” Yuzu corrected her. “You don’t follow their ideals, you’re not willing to invade other dimensions for a twisted goal and you bravely told those Obelisk soldiers that if the Professor wants you back, he's going to have to go get you back himself. "

“But I still -- “

“You made a mistake, but you apologized and you are working on fixing it. It’s not easy, but then again, nothing is easy.”

“But…”

“No more buts,” Yuzu said, firmly yet with a warm undertone underneath it. “Besides, we might not have a chance to duel like this for a long time. So savor it. And besides, don’t you want to experience an Action Duel?”

“An Action Duel? Like the one you did...That does sounds interesting, I do wanna try it.”

“Great!” Yuzu cheered happily. 

“Attention students,” said Reiji, making the LDS students turn to him. He didn’t raise his voice yet everyone still turned to hear what he had to say. “We’re having a special treat today. Yaiba Todo is going to be fighting off Serena…”

“Hiragi,” Serena stated, staring at Yuzu.

“Serena Hiragi,” Reiji declared before looking at Yuzu who had a proud smile on her face. The students looked excited and began to step back so Serena and Yaiba could prepare their duel. “Now to choose the field.”

“Oh I know the perfect one!” Shingo declared. 

“Really?” asked Masumi. “And we’re gonna trust you because...?”

“Look all that I’m saying is she wants to fight, correct?” Shingo said. “And that means she should be ready in any and all fields.”

“Well, by all means,” Masumi said, knowing that Shingo was going to pull off some nasty trick. 

“So here we are! I choose for these two warriors the Action Field known as...Plush Playland!”

“Haah?” Yaiba questioned. “This field of all things?! Ugh, I’d rather go to the lava one instead.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Serena asked. 

“You’ll see,” Yaiba replied with a sigh. 

The scenery changed around them, they now stood on a floor made from pink and white clouds, with bubbles in different shades of blue, yellow, pink, red and much more floated around them, to the sides were couches shaped like clouds as well with animal plushies and pillows all around. It looked like the perfect place for a slumber party! 

“This of all places?”

“Oh god, no! Poor Yaiba!”

“Poor Serena. Look at her, she looks so embarrassed!”

Various LDS students looked in shame at the kid-like Action Field all while Yuzu looked like she was going to strangle Shingo where he stood. Shingo was doing his best not to burst into laughter while Masumi realized just what he was playing at. This would be the worst type of place for a tough-as-nails fighter like Serena to get into and thus she’d lose her cool at all the cutesy stuff going all around her.

“This place…” Serena said, looking around.

“Yeah, that,” Yaiba grumbled. “It’s not a good match for warriors like us to go into battle. Instead, it’s….”

“It’s...so…so...CUTE!!!!” Serena cooed. She looked around, wanting to pop one of the bubbles, rest on a cloud, even cuddle with the adorable plushies scattered about!

The various LDS students looked in confusion, not sure what to make of this former Academia student acting like she’s entering a toy store for the first time. 

“Okay, that wasn’t the reaction I was expecting,” said Masumi.

Shingo reacted appropriately for himself. “_ This _is the tough Academia duelist?” he asked with a cackle. “Look at her; she acts like a child!”

_ SLAP! _

“Serena never experienced anything like this!” said Yuzu, _ harisen _ in hand. “All she’s known is being a soldier for the invasion, nothing about having fun. Let her indulge a little, okay?”

“She is acting adorable,” Yuya commented, imagining his Performapal monsters playing in this Action Field. Perhaps he could put on a show before heading off to Synchro.

Serena got a bright idea as she saw a cloud a few steps away from her. She stepped back, leaned forward and raced towards it while screaming, “FOR THEMASCRYIA!!!”

She jumped into the air as everyone watched her pass through the cloud and splash into a multitude of plushies. 

Masumi watched as one of her eyes twitched. This girl right here was the same one who carded Hokuto?!

“These are just the cutest!” Serena said, hugging a blue kitty plushie. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you won’t curse people to transform into evil cat creatures and have them transform people into zombies!”

“Uhh...what?” Yaiba asked with a sweatdrop all while Yuzu was ready to slap Yoko over the head with her harisen.

“You know...Yuto might have a point in sending your mom’s movies to the Shadow Realm,” Yuzu said. 

(And in the garden, Yuto sneezed)

“_ Now _ you realized it?” Yuya asked sarcastically. “Not when you compared Shun to some unhinged stalker?”

“They’re so goddamn cute!” said Serena, now picking up a beagle plushie. “I promise to make sure no one hurts you, Daisy. If anyone does, I’m gonna _ murder them _!”

“You let her watch _ John Wick _?” Yuya asked. “Yeah, I don’t want to deal with John Wick as a duelist.”

“Serena, you can’t keep those,” Yuzu told her...and perhaps was regretting making Serena watch that movie. 

“Aww…” Serena whined.

“We should buy her some plushies later,” Yuya whispered to Yuzu all while Serena cuddled every single plushie she saw.

“Uh, Serena,” Yaiba pointed out. “Shouldn’t we start dueling now?”

“But I wanna play a bit more~” Serena said, looking at everything and popping a bubble that passed her by.

“How about this?” Reiji suggested. “If you win the duel, I can keep the field up just a bit longer for you to play in.”

“WHAT?!” Shingo and Masumi shouted.

“Really? YAY!!!” Serena cheered as the LDS students sweat-dropped. She acted more like a four-year-old than a fourteen-year-old.

“Ugh,” Shingo groaned. “I wanted to see her squirm in embarrassment. This absolutely backfired!”

“Do your best, Serena!” said Yuzu.

“DON’T CHEER THE ENEMY ON!” Masumi shouted.

Yuzu smiled. “Serena’s not the enemy, she’s my sister!”

“I don’t care if it turns out she’s a princess!” Masumi snapped. “Just beat her good, Yaiba.”

“Um...okay then,” Yaiba said.

Yuzu then giggled a little.

“What’s so funny?” asked Masumi.

“I’m sorry, but you called Serena a princess and it actually suits her,” Yuzu explained.

“I’m not a princess, Yuzu!” Serena exclaimed.

“But you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick. Thus you are a princess,” Yuya pointed out.

Serena pouted. “No I’m not, and my Lunalights aren’t my animal sidekicks!” 

“Well, you were also kidnapped, and stuck in a tower, you wanted more in life than what others said you should want oh and you were protected by a ‘big strong man’ and all,” Yuzu pointed out. 

“It wasn’t a tower. It was just a room on a deserted island, even though there are towers around…” 

“If she starts singing during this duel, I will _ seriously _puke,” Yaiba said.

“Oh come on!” Serena whined. “I don’t even know _ how _to sing.”

“Can you just start the duel already?” Shingo asked, embarrassed.

“Karma is a pain in the butt, isn’t it?” Yuya asked with a grin, and Shingo groaned. 

“Right, let's duel!” Serena said. “After all, sooner I win, the sooner I get to play!” 

Both Serena and Yeiba activated their duel disk before both of them yelled. _ “Duel.” _

**Serena: 4000**

**Yaiba: 4000**

“I’ll go first,” said Serena, drawing her card. “And I start by using the effect of Lunalight Black Sheep in my hand. By discarding her, I get to take a _ special _ Spell Card from my deck to my hand.”

She showed Lunalight Black Sheep to Yaiba before sending it to the graveyard.

_ That has to be Polymerization. _ Masumi thought. _ Of course someone like her would immediately Fusion Summon. _

“Next, I play the Spell Card Luna Light Perfume to bring Lunalight Black Sheep onto the field!”

Rising onto the field in a black tailcoat and pants was the black sheep, her suit decorated with two blue bows and gloves covering her hands. She had light green skin and, befitting the animal she was named after, a cape to look like wool and two long curled horns on each shoulder. She had short white hair, a pink mark over her left eye and a long yellow mask to look like a horn over her right eye. (100 ATK) 

The Lunalight monster saw the fluffy clouds and leapt onto one of them. Unlike Serena, she landed on them as if it was a feathery bed.

“And now I’ll play that Spell Card I received from Black Sheep’s effect. I use Polymerization and fuse both Lunalight Black Sheep on the field and Lunalight Crimson Fox together!”

“Fusion summoning already?” One of the students watching the match said. 

“Man I wonder what her monsters are like?” Another one replied. 

Lunalight Black Sheep and another Lunalight monster -- wearing red and having fox ears and a fox tail -- grabbed hands before spinning into the air.

_ "Shapeshifter basked in a blood-red glow! The beast lurking in jet-black darkness! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight! Lunalight Cat Dancer!" _

With a yowl, Serena’s monsters landed onto the field, wearing a purple leotard with long teal ribbons wrapped around her waist. She had long magenta hair and a crescent mask over her face. She gripped onto her two daggers...all while doing her best not to look at the pretty bubbles, clouds and plushies surrounding her. (2400 ATK)

"And next, I Normal Summon Lunalight Blue Cat in attack position."

From the light, a feminine figure in a yellow ruffled dress flipped herself in the air before bringing her clawed hands out and striking a pose. She had short blue hair and matching cat ears, all while a mask shaped like the crescent moon covered her left eye. (1600 ATK)

The blue feline then looked around at all the fluffy clouds and pretty colorful bubbles, and her eyes shone with giddiness and the need to touch and purr and run her claws all over the place. She ran forward and jumped on top of one of the pink bubbles...but the bubble popped and she fell down, her hands flailing around and she hissed as she landed on a couple of stuffed animals. She growled and tried to land on another bubble but with the same result. Again and again, oh did she try. Land on bubble, bubble pops, Blue Cat falls. She headed to another bubble and the cycle continued.

Several people, of which Yaiba and Mazumi were a part of, sweatdropped. Yuzu and Yuya cooed at the blue cat, while Cat Dancer giggled, and she herself tried to keep herself in check not to go play in this little fun looking playroom. 

“Uh….is that supposed to happen?” asked Yaiba, not used to a lot of monsters reacting to the surrounding field. 

“They’re just really excited, they’ve never been in a place full of plushy things like that. It’s just fun to play in!” Serena said, looking everywhere. “And as much as my Lunalights love to fight, they also like cute and nice things. They don’t get to indulge in stuff like this.”

Blue Cat meowed as she gave up on the bubbles and she returned to Cat Dancer’s side. 

“Now, I set one card face down and end my turn,” said Serena, slipping a card behind her Fusion monster.

“Not bad,” said Yaiba. “But now get ready to see what my monsters can do. I draw!” He swiftly drew his card before smirking. “And I start by summoning XX-Saber Boggart Knight!”

Rising from behind Yaiba through some dinosaur plushies, was the monster with a silver helm and armor that covered all but his chest, glowing with blue lines of electricity. He wore a golden necklace and additional jewelry around his right arm. He also wore a red tattered cape that billowed out in the wind. He looked calm and focused even though there were the clouds, plushies and bubbles to distract him..(1900 ATK)

“With Boggart Knight on the field, I can summon another ‘X-Saber’ monster whose Level is 4 or lower. So I'm bringing out Level 3 XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!”

With a laugh, the next monster appeared, using his whip-like sword to pop a myriad of bubbles. He stood at the waist of Boggart Knight and wore armor with orange trim while also wearing a crimson cape. He also had long blond hair, the bangs covering his right eye. (1400 ATK)

“And I’m not done. Now that I have two ‘X-Saber’ monsters, I can bring this out. Come forth my XX-Saber Faultroll!”

With a groan, the next monster appeared. It looked more robotic than human in red armor with black segments and glowing white lines. Faultroll also wielded a large broadsword over his head and also had the same red cape that was the signature of the X-Sabers. (2400 ATK)

“XX-Saber Fulhelmknight is a Tuner, so I’m gonna tune it and my Level 4 XX-Saber Boggar Knight together right now!”

Fulhelmknight transformed into three green rings while Boggar Knight formed into four white stars that slipped inside. Serena braced herself, knowing that the monster was going to be pretty powerful.

**(*4 + *3 = *7)**

_ "Wielder of crossed blades of light, trample over this mountain of corpses! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 7! X-Saber Souza!" _

With a laugh, the next monster landed from the sky onto the ground, causing the Playland to shake a little. He stood at least twice of Yaiba’s height, the only clothing he had on was armor covering his legs, with a belt buckle showing a large ‘X’, a large pauldron over his left shoulder and the red cape. He had a rugged look to him with short messy hair and a beard. His weapons were a pair of longswords that he crossed over his chest, like another ‘X’. (2100 ATK)

“So that’s a Synchro monster,” Serena observed.

“Yep,” Yaiba said with a grin. “Take a tuner, and another monster, add their levels together and poof! Instant Synchro. But as for its effect, once per turn, XX-Saber Faultroll allows me to bring back a Level 4 or lower ‘X-Saber’ monster in the graveyard onto the field for another round. Guess who, Serena?”

Emerging from the pile of plushies behind Yaiba, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight leapt onto the field, popping multiple bubbles, sword ready. (1400 ATK)

“Oh no,” said Yuzu. “He’s going to Synchro Summon again!”

“That’s right!” Yaiba smirked. “So now I’m tuning these Fulhelmknight with Boggart Knight to unleash my ultimate monster!”

Fulhelmknight transformed into three rings while Boggart Knight shrunk into six silver stars, zipping into the three rings.

**(*6 + *3 = *9)**

_ "Let your silver armor shine and crush the hope of everything that opposes you! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! XX-Saber Gottoms!" _

Rising from the ground was Gottoms, who stood as tall as Souza, perhaps taller. He was entirely enclad in armor with cyan blue lines and a tiny helm covering his head and his weapons a large silver sword that shimmered in multiple colors. (3100 ATK)

“Serena’s in trouble~ Serena’s in trouble~” Shingo sang, seeing the strength of XX-Saber Gottoms. Then he was slapped by Yuzu’s _ harisen _. “Hey!”

"Now XX-Saber Souza attack Lunalight Blue Cat!"

XX-Saber Souza charged into battle, sword swiping his target in half with his swords. Blue Cat hissed as she got destroyed. 

**Yaiba: 4000**

**Serena: 3500**

"I activate my Trap Card, Lunalight Reincarnation Dance and chain it with Lunalight Blue Cat's special effect!” Serena shouted. “Lunalight Reincarnation Dance’s effect lets me retrieve two ‘Lunalight’ monsters from my deck to my hand, and I choose Lunalight Purple Butterfly and Lunalight Tiger."

Serena’s face-down card lifted, revealing the silhouettes of Lunalight Purple Butterfly and Lunalight White Rabbit underneath a shining full moon. Serena then swiped two cards from her deck and added them to her hand.

“And then Blue Cat's effect when she’s destroyed by battle or by card effect she lets me Special Summon any Lunalight monster from my deck to the field. So I Special Summon Lunalight Crimson Fox in Defense Mode."

With a growl the newest Lunalight monster appeared. It was a girl with red hair, fox ears and a tail with pink skin wearing a red and white leotard with yellow ruffles, and a crescent moon on her chest gloves that have fur at their base, and widen as you go along the arm, along with knee high crimson boots, and a mask of a crescent moon on the right side of her face sat at the card that showed her image. (600 DEF)

Crimson Fox looked around the room and let out a squee and a smile, wanting to jump out and start nuzzling all the cute and soft looking plushies and pop a few bubbles with her claws...but she couldn’t do it while in defense mode. The little fox sighed with a pout and kept her attention on the battle. 

“That won’t stop my attack! XX-Saber Gottoms, destroy Lunalight Cat Dancer!”

Gottoms grinned as he rushed into battle, red cape fluttering in the wind. Cat Dancer growled, eyes narrowed as she braced herself for the impact as XX-Saber’s sword was just above her head.

_ She’s not going for an Action Card? _ asked Masumi, staring at Serena. _ Unless… _

Lunalight Cat Dancer blocked Gottoms’ attack with her knives, a gust of wind passed into Serena as her life points depleted. With a growl Cat Dancer kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying back into a storm of bubbles with a groan.

**Yaiba: 4000**

**Serena: 2800**

"Hey wait a second, why isn't Cat Dancer destroyed?" Yaiba asked

"Lunalight Cat Dancer can't be destroyed by battle," Serena answered with a small smirk. "My girl was meant to last in a fight, even if her opponent is stronger than her."

“Tch,” Yaiba muttered. “I’m ending this with two cards face-down and end my turn.”

“Well even if she can’t be destroyed in battle, Serena still gets the damage,” Shingo noted. “And she can’t just put her in defense mode.”

“Cat Dancer isn’t her only Fusion monster you know,” Yuzu said. 

“She’s hardly down for the count,” Yuya said. 

“Maybe but Yaiba’s monsters will swarm the field and the moment Cat Dancer is out of the way he can beat Serena,” Shingo rebuffed. 

“I think you underestimate her way too much when you don’t even know what her cards can do,” Yuzu replied.

“Oh? Have you actually _ seen _ her duel?”

“In fact, I have. I dueled with her too to save ourselves from some Obelisk Force soldiers. She even has this wicked dragon that’s a real sweetheart!” 

“Don’t underestimate Fusion users, Shingo,” Masumi said. “If her cards are made for battle like she claims then that means they’re heavy hitters. Yaiba isn’t out of the woods yet.” 

“Now then I draw,” said Serena, drawing a card. She smirked, remembering what Shingo did the day before as she revealed two cards towards Yaiba. “And I’m going to set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Lunalight Wolf and Scale 5 Lunalight Tiger!”

Serena placed the two cards onto her Duel Disk and saw the word ‘PENDULUM’ appear. Then, rising into the air were her two Lunalight Pendulums with a ‘1’ and ‘5’ underneath their feet.

The first Pendulum was a purple wolf with black and dark green fur, her hair in a long ponytail with yellow hoop decorating it. She wore a leotard with fur ruffles at its end, a small crescent moon decorating her chest with four bead lines descending down along with a red crystal. Her leg was decorated with golden leg braces connected together.

The other Pendulum was a cute cartoony looking yellow tiger with black stripes all over her body wearing a black leotard and two pink bows -- one at the end of her tail and the other on her left arm, with golden eyes. A blue crescent moon was painted on her left eye while a golden mask of a moon was on the right side of her face. 

“They look amazing!” Yuzu gasped. The two Lunalights smiled as they saw the colors and clouds and bubbles, but were stuck suspended in mid-air unable to do anything.

“Now I summon Lunalight Kaleido Chick from my hand,” Serena continued.

A yellow skinned girl appeared with yellow and white leotard with soft green ruffles on the sides, a yellow hat that gave the impression of a duck, spreading a soft green and yellow fabric seeming as if they were wings with a mask of a crescent moon with a blue jewel over the eye. She chirped and fluttered her arms as if she was flying. (1400 ATK)

  
  


“Now I activate her ability. I can send one monster from my deck or Extra Deck and Kaleido Chick gains her name, so I’m sending another Lunalight Cat Dancer from my Extra deck to the graveyard.”

“Why would she do that?” She just lost a Fusion Monster for nothing when she has the same one on the field,” a random student questioned.

Kaleido Chick wasn’t paying any attention to that; as Serena rattled on about her effect, the young girl had flown towards a couple of plushies resembling chicks like her and snuggled towards them.

“Wait,” said Masumi. “So she summons her Pendulum monsters but she doesn’t even try to Pendulum Summon?”

“Because I don’t need them for summoning, I’m going to use their abilities!” said Serena. “I activate Lunalight Wolf’s Pendulum ability! I can Fusion Summon by banishing monsters from my field or graveyard. So I banish Lunalight Kaleido Chick from my field with Lunalight Black Sheep in my graveyard.”

Lunalight Wolf howled to the sky as he image of Lunalight Black Sheep appeared next to Kaleido Chick. The two spun into the air once more, Kaleido Chick’s image briefly transforming into Lunalight Cat Dancer.

_ "The beast lurking in jet-black darkness! The beautiful wild beast dancing under the moonlight! Swarm in the vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Elegant beast dancing on the moonlit wilderness! Lunalight Panther Dancer!" _

From behind a large black panther plushie was a maroon skinned Beast-Warrior with black straight and short hair wearing a blue and white corset and white fur decorating the outlines of her chest, blue gloves with white palms, and two golden hoops decorating her arms and sharp looking claws. She had pink strips of fabric strips of cloth falling down her back and her legs were purple that ended in three toes with black claws. Her black tail lashed out like a whip as she growled at Yaiba’s X-Sabers. (2800 ATK)

“Interesting,” Masumi mused. “Unlike Yuzu’s Fusions, one of your materials has to be a Fusion Monster you control.”

“Yeah,” said Serena. “To get the stronger dancers, I have to fuse Cat Dancer first and then Panther Dancer for one more.”

“That’s an interesting way to Fusion Summon.” Yuzu mused to herself, knowing that she can Fusion Summon using any old Melodious monster (well Bloom Diva needs a Melodious _ Maestra _, but still! It’s not specified which one, so she has more than one option. And Crystal Rose makes it easier to use as material)

“Now then I activate Lunalight Purple Butterfly's effect,” said Serena, showing off the card for said Lunalight monster. “If I discard it from my hand or field to the graveyard, one of my monsters gets an extra 1000 Attack points, and of course I'll give it to my Lunalight Panther Dancer."

Purple Butterfly appeared, a girl with beautiful butterfly wings, purple hair styled like a wing, and wearing a purple and white leotard with cream ruffles on the skirt and shoulders fluttering a little before she vanished and Panther Dancer’s attack rose. (2800 -) 3800 ATK)

“That’s still not gonna save her.”

"And then I activate Lunalight Panther Dancer's Special Ability! Each time your monsters are attacked your monster isn't destroyed, My Panther Dancer can attack all of your monsters twice each, And every time she destroys a monster, she gets another 200 ATK points for the Battle Phase."

"Say what?!"

“You heard me!” said Serena. "Go Panther Dancer Attack his XX-Saber Gottoms!”

Panther Dancer growled as she prepared her claws, attacking Gottoms once. (Panther Dancer: 3800 -) 4000 ATK) Then she sliced at him again, this time he went down.

**Yaiba: 2600**

**Serena: 2800**

“I activate my face-down cards: Gottoms’ Emergency Call and Option Hunter!” Yaiba shouted.

His two face-down cards lifted. The first one showed XX-Saber Gottoms pointing his sword towards Serena while the other showed strange purple space crafts with long pincers.

“Gottoms’ Emergency Call will allow me to bring back two ‘X-Saber’ monsters from my grave because I control one ‘X-Saber’ monster. And Option Hunter will allow me to reclaim lifepoints equal to the attack points of one of my destroyed monsters! So I’m bringing back XX-Fulhelmknight and XX-Saber Gottoms and choose to gain 3100 lifepoints from Gottoms’ attack!”

Emerging from Gottoms’ Second Call were the X-Saber Tuner (1300 ATK) and the destroyed X-Saber Synchro (3100 ATK) while Yaiba felt his lifepoints increase.

**Yaiba: 5700**

**Serena: 2800**

"Well then, it’s your funeral cause Panther Dancer can attack _ all _your monsters!”

“Wait so that means…” Shingo said. 

“With Panther Dancer swarming the field is a bad idea because she can destroy all of them and cause Yeiba more damage with each hit,” Yuya surmised.

Panther Dancer raced towards Gottoms once more, a smirk on her face as she was ready to shred her opponent.

“I activate the effect of XX-Fulhelmknight! Once when it’s on the field, it can negate an attack from your Panther Dancer! That means that Gottoms is safe this time!”

Fulhelmknight leapt in front of Gottoms, blade stopping Panther Dancer from fully destroying Gottoms.

**Yaiba: 4800**

**Serena: 2800**

"Your Gottoms lives but the rest of your monsters don't,” Serena pointed just as Panther Dancer grinned and looked ready to murder Fulhelmknight.

Yaiba looked and saw an Action Card floating in a bubble. He brought his kendo stick out and swiped the air, causing two gusts of wind to pop all the bubbles and have the Action Card drop to his hand.

“I activate the Action Card - Great Escape! Now the Battle Phase ends!” Yaiba gave a relieved sigh when he saw Panther Dancer return to Serena’s side. "That was close."

"Yaiba, focus! She almost destroyed you with one monster!" Masumi yelled. 

“I am, I am,” said Yaiba, drawing his card. “But man, I haven’t had a chance to fight something like this before.”

“Yeah well the Obelisk Force guys won’t share your admiration!”

Yaiba sighed. “I activate XX-Souza’s effect! By tributing an ‘X-Saber’ I control, I can let Souza fight off one of your monsters and then destroy it during the Damage Step! You said Cat Dancer can’t be destroyed by battle, but can it handle a monster effect?”

_ She can’t! _Serena thought.

XX-Saber Fulhelmknight vanished as Souza rushed into battle. He swiped his swords at Cat Dancer, who did her best to parry the blow before she fell to her knees and shattered.

**Yaiba: 4400**

**Serena: 2800**

“And next, XX-Gottoms...go after Lunalight Panther Dancer!”

As Gottoms prepared his sword, Serena began running into a pyramid of stuffed animals behind her, feeling around for a card before she saw one in the pouch of a kangaroo plushie. She snatched into her hand before kicking plushies to the side, showing it to Yaiba.

“I activate the Action Card, Bi-Attack! This doubles Lunalight Panther Dancer’s attack this turn!”

The Action Card of a pair of cross swords appeared as a little ‘2’ hovered above Panther Dancer’s head. (2800 -) 5600 ATK)

“Oh come on!” Yaiba said, running towards a large fluffy cloud couch and knocking it to the side. He grabbed the Action Card resting on it. “I activate the Action Card - Miracle! Not only does XX-Gottoms survive, but the damage I take from this battle gets cut in half!”

Panther Dancer leapt into the air before performing a cross-slash on XX-Gottoms, knocking Gottoms into a pyramid of kitty plushies.

**Yaiba: 3150**

**Serena: 2800**

“That was way too close,” Masumi said. 

“Yeah, this duel is getting exciting!” Yuzu said.

“I end this with a face-down card,” said Yaiba, slipping the last card of his hand into his Duel Disk. “Your turn.”

Serena nodded her head as she drew a card. “First off, I -- “

“And now I activate my face-down card, Raigeki Break!” Yaiba interrupted her. “All I have to do is discard a card in my hand, then I can target a card and destroy it!”

As Yaiba discarded the last card in his hand, and Raigeki Break showed the hand of some spellcaster channeling a lightning bolt to attack a green-skinned ogre wielding a spiked club, Masumi narrowed her eyes. Serena didn’t look shocked at how Yaiba could destroy her monster.

_ She’s not worried that Yaiba could destroy her Panther Dancer? _ Masumi thought. _ Unless...unless Panther Dancer can’t be destroyed by card effects! Yaiba, you idiot! _

“Panther Dancer is immune to destruction by card effect,” said Serena. And everyone could see Panther Dancer smirking and crossing her hands. 

“Fine then, I’ll destroy that fox instead!” Yaiba growled.

Masumi narrowed her eyes at the gleam in Serena's eye. 

_ What is she…. No Yaiba! _ Masumi groaned. _ You fell for it! She _ wants _ you to destroy Crimson Fox! _

“Well that was also a bad idea,” said Serena, as they saw Crimson Fox have a mischievous smirk on her face and winked as she got destroyed by a bolt of lightning. “If Lunalight Crimson Fox is sent to the graveyard by card effect, she can target a monster you control and drop its attack all the way down to zero!”

“WHAT?!” Yaiba screamed, realizing what he did.

XX-Gottoms groaned as he fell to his knees, feeling utterly weak. (3100 -) 0 ATK)

“Oh no…” Yaiba whispered, looking around for an Action Card to save him. He and Serena look up to see one off to the side, in the paws of a _ maneki-neko _plushie sitting on top of numerous other plushies like the cherry on a sundae. The two duelists stared at one another before they raced towards the mountain of plushies.

“This is getting fun!”

“I know, this Action Field is kinda cool. Those Lunalights are awesome!”

“Go beat her Yaiba!”

Both duelists began climbing the mountain, knocking off other plushies -- some knocked onto the heads of Lunalight Panther Dancer and XX-Saber Gottoms -- to get to the card. Yaiba summoned a gust of wind with a swipe of his kendo stick, hoping to knock the maneki-neko off the pile. It wobbled a little before falling forwards. Serena leapt and grabbed the plushie just before Yaiba could swipe it and she landed on one of the cloud couches with a soft _ thump _.

“Gotcha!” Serena said, staring at the card. “I activate the Action Card I just received. The Action Card - Over Sword! This increases the attack of Lunalight Panther Dancer by 500. And not only that, but her attack can’t be negated!”

Panther Dancer meowed as her attack points rose up just enough to drop Yaiba’s lifepoints to zero. (2800 -) 3300 ATK)

“Oh no no no…” Yaiba said, knowing that he couldn’t stop Panther Dancer from mauling him now. 

“Yaiba do something!” Masumi yelled, Yaiba ran around looking for a card to save his life points but found nothing under all that stuff and fluff. 

_ Damn you, Shingo! _ Yaiba growled, futilely trying to find _ something _ to save his ass. He began kicking the stuffed animals around to make it easier.

“Panther Dancer, destroy his XX-Gottems!” Serena shouted. 

Panther Dancer raced to the monster who was on his knees, now with an attack of zero as she slashed at him. 

There was no need for Gottoms to be attacked again as Yaiba knew that he was unable to protect his monster or his lifepoints.

**Yaiba: 0**

**Serena: 2800**

“You did it! You did it!” Yuzu cheered and ran to hug Serena, happily

Students cheered all while Shingo looked in embarrassment. He wanted Yaiba to totally defeat this girl, but instead he lost and it was mostly attributed to the “choice” of the battlefield.

“That was a really nice duel,” Serena said approaching the X-Saber duelist. Yaiba stood up and nodded. 

“It was an honor dueling you,” he said, extending his hand. “Hopefully we get to fight on a better and less fluffy battlefield next time. And good luck in fighting off Academia.”

Serena smirked and shook his hand. “Same to you.” 

Reiji came in closer smiling and clapping his hands. “Good job Serena, Yaiba, you both did well.” 

“Remember our deal, Reiji,” said Serena. “I get to play in this Action Field some more.”

“Correct,” Reiji said with a smile. “Go on, be my guest.”

“WHAT???!!!” asked Shingo. “You’re asking the CEO of Leo Corp. for something so simple and childish as this?!”

“YAY!!!!!” Serena shouted, jumping up and down and waving towards Yuzu and Yuya. She looked more like a young girl about to enter an amusement park than the tough rugged duelist who just defeated Yaiba seconds ago. “Come on! Let’s play!”

“Sure, what do we wanna do?” Yuzu asked. 

“Hmm, we can play-fight! Like one of us is the bad guy and one of us needs to rescue the other,” Yuya said. 

“Sounds good,” Yuzu said. 

“Yay~ But no way I’m gonna be the princess,” Serena said, crossing her arms and pouting. 

“That’s fine, I will,” Yuzu volunteered. 

“I can be the bad guy, and Serena can try to take you from me.” Yuya suggested. 

“Daww, big bad dragon prince stole the Fairy Maiden and her sister needs to gather her troops to rescue her then? Is that what we’re playing?” Yuzu asked, leaning towards Yuya teasingly, making Yuya’s face flush a little bit. 

“Um...yeah,” Yuya said. “I mean, who knows when we’ll get to do something like this and then. So…” he clapped his hands. “Ladies and gentlemen! The students of You Show Duel School will give you a performance that will leave you in awe! So please give us a few minutes to set this up.”

The LDS students silently watched as Yuya and Serena summoned their monsters. Yuya had Timegazer and Stargazer Magician guarding Yuzu while Yuya stood on top of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Flanking the dragon were two other Performapal monsters: Performapal Helpprincess and Performapal Coindragon.

On Serena’s side, she had Lunalight Blue Cat and Crimson Fox alongside Lunalight Panther Dancer ready to fight. Lunalight Cat Dancer was off resting on some clouds while Lunalight Purple Butterfly watched the pretty bubbles floating everywhere while sitting on top of a rather large one.

“AHAHAHAHAAAA!” Yuya cackled, arms folded over his chest as Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon roared. “Foolish Moon Maiden, I have the Fairy Maiden in my grasp and she shall be my bride!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it you evil fiend. I will return my sister to me and defeat you!” Serena vowed. 

“We shall see,” Yuya snicked. “For now I shall summon one of my ultimate deadliest monsters!” 

The Overlay Unit appeared as the two Performapal Monsters turned into light particles and went into the starry vortex. 

“Emerge from the deepest pits of the Nightmare Realm, BLACK MIRROR XYZ DRAGON!” Yuya shouted, imitating Yuri when he was unleashing hell.

Black Mirror Xyz Dragon emerged from the center of the Overlay Network with a roar, unfurling his gruesome wings and opening its mouth to reveal its black jagged iron teeth. The students gasped in shock...causing the dragon to hide his face with said wings and bow his head, whimpering.

Yuya laughed and patted the dragon’s head making him purr. “It’s okay, Black Mirror. For you see...I have _ another _ prisoner on me. She of fair eyes, the powerful Spirit Maiden!” Yuya exclaimed happily, extending a hand to Reira.

“M...me?” Reira said, pointing to herself. 

Yuya nodded smiling widely. Reira’s eyes went wide, shining happily at the fun. She looked at Reiji, who patted her shoulder and nodded his head. Reira smiled and slowly approached the Plush Playland and looked at her own reflection in the cracked glass that was the dragon’s eyes. She reached out and patted the snout of the dragon who smiled back in return. Black Mirror Dragon looked at Reira and tilted his head towards her.

“Wait what? You’re gonna get her close to that _ monster _?!” Shingo asked, very scared of the big metal dragon.

“You hurt his feelings!” Yuzu said, noticing that the dragon looked on the verge of tearing up.

“Yeah, Black Mirror is quite sensitive to his appearance,” Yuya said.

“How dare you!” Serena shouted at Yuya. “You took the Spirit Maiden also? She’s too young, too innocent!”

Timegazer and Stargazer were stopping themselves from full on giggling and laughing at the scenario that their prince was playing out. They were quite accustomed to Yuya and his brothers to play pretend all the time, and had asked them to join several times when they were free, it always managed to make the two of them laugh and have a good time. 

_ It seems Serena doesn’t know the _ grander _ storylines our Prince can make. _Timegazer said.

_ Well at least it’s not going to end with someone on fire. _Stargazer added.

“Grander?” Yuzu asked them, tilting her head

_ Oh, that’s right. _ Timegazer chuckled. _ You can hear us now. Well, our prince has the power over illusion magic. He can create any scenario he wanted and he would always have a lot of time making stories with us and the other magicians and servants in the court. Although the poor Dragonmaids who had to clean up his messes could tell you a different story. _

Yuzu laughed softly. It was a little weird hearing all these new stories about Yuya, when she spent all her life with him, and now she was seeing a part that she never saw before. Then again, he doesn’t seem all that different, still making people smile, creating games and scenes to entertain people. 

“I don’t see why we’re spending time with this childish nonsense,” Masumi grumbled.

Black Mirror dipped his head low before Reira suddenly was on top of his head. The Xyz Dragon roared at everyone who pretended to gasp and scream at the terrifying dragon.

“Hang on Spirit Maiden, I’ll save you!” Serena said. “Your brother is quite worried about you; he misses you day and night.”

“Does he now?” Yuya said with a smirk. “He’s so busy signing _ dark contracts _ with demons and obtaining their power to even notice she’s missing. Every night while he signs the contracts with his own blood, I appear and take her away to a land of magic and wonder. She is happier here and so is the Fairy Maiden.”

“I will not listen to your lies!” Serena snapped. “I shall defeat you and save them myself from your hands.” 

Lunalight Cat Dancer meowed and rolled to the side while squeezing a mouse plushie. Lunalight Purple Butterfly just fluttered about. The only ones taking it seriously were Panther Dancer, Blue Cat and Crimson Fox and even then it took their willpower to not just give into everything.

“I’d like to see you try,” Yuya smirked. “For you see, my Odd-Eyes is a very powerful dragon and can take on many forms! Observe!”

Yuya showed Polymerization and Performapal Silver Claw before playing them. Odd-Eyes Dragon roared before it transformed into Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

“Very well, then I shall show you my most powerful monster, the General of my Lunalights!” Serena said, producing her Lunalight Fusion Spell Card. Crimson Wolf and Blue Cat stood at the ready as she activated her card. A shadow of Lunalight Panther Dancer appearing behind them before holding hands and swirling together in a blue and crimson light. Then, with a drop kick to the floor, a new Lunalight Fusion with white spiky hair resembling a mane with a long tail at the end, wearing a magenta dress that showed a _ lot _ of her lavender skin with her legs bare and her weapons being a long sword in her right hand and some sort of guard over her left arm where there was a wide curved blade jutting out. “Meet Lunalight Leo Dancer!”

“RAWR!” Leo Dancer roared, baring her fangs. She looked ready to destroy the dragons and have fun while doing so.

“Another Fusion Monster?” Yaiba asked, glad that he didn’t have to face _ that _. 

Panther Dancer stood by Leo Dancer’s side, crouching low and ready to attack, while Leo Dancer stood there, arms crossed, smirking at the dragon.

“I’m not scared of your pussy cats,” Yuya said. “Now my monsters...ATTACK!!!”

The dragons roared and Reira held onto dear life as they stomped towards Serena’s monsters. The felines leapt with hisses and snarls...

But before the first blow was struck, a small brown furry puffball with a pair of angel wings somehow appeared on the battlefield between them.

“Kuri?” it asked, its purple eyes looking around at the monsters staring at it. It started to sweat, afraid that it would become dinner.

“Uh...what is that?” asked Yuya, trying to improv. Black Mirror Xyz Dragon leaned down and sniffed the furball. “Your secret weapon?”

Leo Dancer, Panther Dancer, Purple Butterfly, even Cat Dancer paused as they stared at this new creature with large purple eyes staring back at them. Then, the same thought entered their minds.

_ IT’S SO CUTE!!!! _Was the consensus thought between all the Lunalights as they started to jump, their hands extended to catch the small creature floating and trying to get away from their claws. The winged puffball began to fly away in terror but didn’t get far before Lunalight Purple Butterfly swooped in and began to cuddle it.

“Wa-wait, where did this Kurriboh come from?” Yuzu asked. “Is that yours, Yuya?”

“No, I don’t have a Kuriboh,” Yuya answered.

"Sorry, that was mine," an unfamiliar voice was heard, "Winged Kuriboh really wanted to play." 

Everyone turned around to look at the new arrival, he was a boy that looked in sixteen, rubbing the back of his head a bit sheepishly with brown hair and bangs,and eyes that matched, wearing a red jacket over a black T-shirt. He also wore white pants ending in red and black sneakers. 

"Who… are you?" Reiji asked. 

Zarc and Ray appeared beside Yuzu and Yuya, causing the two to turn around along with Serena. Reira blinked at seeing the shadow’s face for the first time. 

_ “This kid is what you sensed?” _Ray asked and Zarc nodded with a smirk. 

“That power…” Yuya mumbled. 

“Power?” Yuzu and Serena asked, Reira glanced at Yuya before looking at the boy who had just arrived. Yeah she can sense it too, it’s different, but there all the same. Power. ** **

“Don’t mind me,” The boy said. “Continue! I wanna see how this ends.”

But all attention was on the boy. Now both Lunalights and the Magicians had an idea of who this boy in the red jacket was and they looked in fear.

“What?” asked Serena, turning to her monsters. “Why does this stranger whose coat is stained with blood piqued your interest?”

_ “King…” _Lunalight Leo Dancer whispered

“Huh?!” Serena asked, surprised that her Lunalights actually spoke. 

_ “Supreme King,” _Panther Dancer clarified. 

_ “Haou-sama,” _ Stargazer whispered and Yuzu’s eyes widened. This kid was on the same level as _ Zarc _?!

“Supreme King?” Serena asked before taking a good look at the boy and actually noticing the jacket. Red like…”Academia?!”

The boy grinned. “Pleasure to meet you all. And my name’s not Academia, it’s Jaden, Jaden Yuki!”


	19. Chapter 9 (Part 3): All That Glitters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! We're back with part three. Oh we had so so much fun writing this and writing more of my baby Jaden. Surprisingly enough this duel was written around the same time That Yugo's duel with Raphael was written. This was an easier duel to write mostly because neither of these archetypes are as remarkably shitty as Guardians are but and I do mean every word
> 
> Neo-Spacians SUCK!
> 
> Listen I like these guys, and like their personalities, but they take forever to set up and they don't have that good of abilities 
> 
> It took a while since we also weren't working with a full Neo-Spacian deck but with a mix of Elemental Heroes as well.
> 
> So we Hope you like this chapter. Please comment!

To put it a single word, Dennis MacField was...nervous. He really should not have taken the spying job at all. All throughout his life in Academia, he was taught to be the best there was, to duel for power, for his own self and for the professor in order to create a Utopia. 

But the minute he saw all those people screaming and being carded while the Academia students how many they captured like they were hunting animals, it quickly made him realize the price he paid.

All Dennis wanted to do was make people smile, be a performer, wow people with his sleight of hand and his theatrics. It’s what made him look up to Yusho Sakaki. But the great Yusho Sakaki, as good as a duelist he was with just simple Tribute Summoning, was an entertainer at heart. No cheap tricks, no desires to hurt others, just being supportive and kind and caring and patient with those who wished to learn to duel to ease conflicts.

When he started learning under Yusho, he never thought he would love it so much, love the acting, the drama, the look of absolute joy on everyone’s faces when he performed a trick made his heart leap, made him happier than anything he ever did for Academia. 

He wished to keep doing it forever. But he had a duty to Academia and he was taught that it’s all worth it. All the pain and suffering and screaming will be worth it for the utopia that the professor was going to create. He believed that, or at least he used to. With each second that passed from the moment he sent the signal his guilt had grown and it’s amazing that he hasn’t heard the voices of those people from Heartland screaming in his dreams asking why he would do such a thing. 

Now he had another spying mission -- to keep an eye on Serena and Yuzu until Yuri comes to take them away. The Battle Royale felt like Heartland all over again, and Dennis wasn’t sure if he was relieved or horrified that nothing went according to plan. Standard was not conquered or destroyed, many of the Obelisk Force soldiers were defeated with only a dozen people carded at minimum, and both Serena and Yuzu had been saved by some strange biker in a white coat. Not to mention that Yuto wasn’t alone in the category of “people who look similar to Yuri”. It’s a miracle that Yuya was so naive and believed Dennis’s lie on being a big fan of Yusho (which, to be fair, it wasn’t really a lie but it would’ve been one if Yusho was there to hear it). 

On one hand, Dennis was secretly happy that the events in Heartland were not repeated. On the other, it will only prolong the inevitable. Now he had seen Serena duel with her new Pendulum cards, and she was stronger than ever. She already had been a force to be reckoned with in Academia, beating a lot of students when she would get out of her room and try to run away, but now she had access to a new summoning method that can help her both in Fusion summoning and, if Yuya is anything to go by. Xyz Summoning if the girl wants to learn it. 

(Thankfully there is no such thing as Lunalight Xyz monsters, but that could change. After all, he himself had Pendulum monsters when they didn’t originally exist for the Performage archetype).

Now a new student was here. A Slifer Red, who Dennis knew nothing about (and neither did Serena, given how she was confused with that student’s red coat) and had no idea why he was here in the first place. After all he can’t be here to infiltrate and spy on the Lancers; Dennis was already doing that. He was also a Slifer Red, meaning he was not as powerful as a spy would have been like Sora for example. Of course there was always the idea that he was  _ pretending _ to be a Slifer Red...

So what’s this kid’s angle, and how did he get here? And what was he thinking keeping his Slifer Jacket on? Serena was there, she would recognize him immediately. 

Dennis frowned as he turned his Duel Disk, ready to give a message to the Professor. Surely the Professor would know just who this Slifer was.

*************

“Sorry about that! Winged Kuriboh really wanted to join in.”

Everyone turned to see the person entering the court, with light brown hair, a red jacket, black shirt, white pants and sneakers. Behind him were Yoko, Gogenzaka and another of Yuya's...doubles. The duel monsters also were shocked at seeing this boy (barring Purple Butterfly who was still cuddling Winged Kuriboh happily.)

“Um, am I seeing things or is that Yuya’s twin brother?” asked Yaiba, looking at Yugo.

“You’re not seeing things, Yaiba,” Masumi replied, clenching her teeth. “This guy might also be part of Academia.”

"Mom? Yugo? Gongenzaka?” Yuya asked in surprise. “What are you guys doing here? How did the duel go?"

"It was amazing, Yuya!” Yugo exclaimed. “Kaa-san and your friend were really awesome! They learned to Synchro Summon so well."

“I, the man, Gongenzaka am proud to have met a formidable opponent in your mother,” Gongenzaka replied, fist on his chest. “I hope to duel her again in the future.”

Yuya smiled as he saw his mother wink at him. "Oh man, I wish I was there to see it! But why are you here? And….who's this guy? Something's… strange about him… "

Jaden looked at Yuya and smiled. But before he could open his mouth, he was interrupted by Serena. 

"Hey! Why is an Academia student here?" she asked.

"An Academia student?" asked Yaiba.

"Yeah,” said Serena. “See that jacket he's wearing? That’s a jacket of those who are part of the Slifer Red dorm." 

The boy tugged on the collar of his open jacket, looking at it with a proud smile. “What’s wrong with it? I mean, red’s a good color on me, don’t you think?.”

Serena snarled and grabbed onto Jaden’s shirt. Even though she was a head shorter than him, there was no doubt that she was capable of skilled at hand-to-hand combat as she was at dueling. “Why are you here?” she asked, ready to command her Lunalight monsters to slice him to ribbons. “How did you get here? Better yet, who are you?!”

“ My name’s Jaden, Jaden Yuki,” Jaden replied. “And I’m looking for Yuya Sakaki. Yugo told me he can help me with something important.” 

“Fusion?” Yaiba asked.

“It’s not Fusion, it’s Yugo!” Yugo shouted, making Yaiba flinch, taking a step back and placing his hands over his face, and Jaden chuckled. 

“Yeah, he gets very angry if you confuse the two,” Yoko replied. “But he’s a pretty good teacher when he puts his mind to it.”

It was then that Masumi and Yaiba took a glance at Yoko. They knew her to be the mother of Yuya and husband of Yusho...but her current appearance made her look like she was ready to engage in a brawl instead of cleaning house (unless the ‘cleaning house’ was her kicking someone’s ass which was probably something she had experience with). Even Shingo looked in confusion.

“ _ That’s _ your mom, Yuya?” Shingo asked, eyes wide. “How the hell did she snag a guy like Yusho?”

Yoko glared at Shingo and it didn’t take a genius to explain why she was once known as ‘Shooting Star Yoko’. “That’s a story for another day, kiddo. Anyway Yuya, Jaden says that you’re the only way he can see some ‘important people’ again.”

“Huh?” Yuya asked.

As Yuya looked in confusion, he didn’t see the six Dragon Vassals watching from the sidelines. Seto, Mokuba and Joey looked in shock at seeing Jaden, but Jesse stood there, tears in his eyes as he covered his mouth with a hand. Atem and Yugi were consoling Jesse, knowing just what it was like to be separated.

Jaden’s eyes met Jesse and they softened, wanting so much to go and hug him close. Jesse has changed as Jaden had expected, but he never thought the change would be this drastic. Instead of teal eyes, Jesse’s eyes were like amber and his bangs cast a shadow over his face, just like the time Yubel had possessed him, and he was wearing the same dark blue clothes too. He also had two dragon wings -- one gray and one white -- both decorated with the seven gems that belonged to his Crystal Beasts. And just like Jesse’s famous Rainbow Dragon, the feathers shimmered with rainbow colors. He still looked absolutely  _ beautiful  _ to Jaden. 

The brown haired boy didn’t pay attention to the other spirits around, only focusing on Jesse, wanting to hold him tight, cry in his arms, kiss him, apologize for taking so long to reunite. 

“Hey! Hello Jaden, are you even listening to me?” asked Serena.

“Hmm? Oh sorry,” Jaden said, rubbing the back of his head. “What were you guys saying?”

Yugo and Yuya glanced to where Jaden was looking to see the six spirits-- especially the new one with blue hair -- who looked ready to fly towards Jaden and never wanted him to leave.

_ Jaden... _ Jesse whispered, eyes shimmering with tears.  _ You’re here, you’re here. Come back to me, I’m so happy to see you again. _

_ Jess… I missed you. I’m gonna get you and Yubel back to me I promise. I’m not leaving here without either of you. Just wait a little bit longer, I’ll get you back.  _ Jaden vowed.

_ Wait...you two were  _ together _ ?!  _ Joey asked, looking back at Jesse then at Jaden.

Jesse nodded. Hand over his heart.  _ He is the other half of my soul. A man I longed for and loved both in this life and in my past.  _

“So you’re also part of that school, Jaden?” Masumi asked out loud, oblivious to the Duel Spirits’ conversation. “The same school who carded my friend  _ and _ carded all of the Youth Division?”

“Not to mention two exchange students,” Yuzu muttered, not wanting to remember Halil and Olga’s terrified faces.

“Wait, why would the Professor send a Slifer Red student here?” Serena asked, echoing Dennis’ thoughts. 

“What do you mean?” Yuya asked. 

“What’s a ‘Slifer Red’?” Yugo asked. 

“Well, the thing about the system in Academia is the ranks are Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue right?” Serena said, holding up three fingers. “Obelisk Blue are generally the best of the best, which is why Obelisk Force exists. Then there are the Ra Yellows who are a step down, and finally the Slifer Reds who are the weakest students in Academia. So it’s pretty weird that they would send a  _ Slifer Red _ after an open and failed invasion, right?" 

“But you’re pretty powerful yourself, Serena,” Yaiba commented. “Why the hell aren’t you an Obelisk or whatever?”

“It’s because of the Professor,” Serena replied. “Professor Akaba thinks that I didn’t need to be held to other students’ standards and never actually was part of classes or exams, I don’t actually have a rank at all. Although if I did, he would’ve put me in Slifer Red for my own ‘protection’.”

“Wait Professor  _ Akaba _ ?!” Yaiba repeated, looking at Reiji. “Reiji’s old man is running the entire thing?”

“It’s a long story,” Yoko said. “Ask Reiji after all this is over; I’m sure he’ll  _ gladly _ explain to you what he never could explain to  _ us _ .”

At this she turned to Reiji, and Reiji couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at the remark.

“So what about him?” asked Yaiba, pointing at Jaden with his sword, Jaden blinked at it.

“Well…” Jaden began before he was interrupted by Masumi, making him groan in annoyance.

“Who cares?” Masumi asked. “He’s an Academia student so whatever he’s here for it’s not good, and I’m not gonna let him card anyone here. Come on, then! Duel me, Jaden Yuki!” she snarled, pointing at Jaden. “You’ll be good practice for the future.”

_ Oh man she’s as good as dead.  _ Yugi pointed out.  _ She never stood a chance.  _

_ Yeah...So, who’s up for betting how long it’ll take for Jaden to beat her?  _ Joey asked cheerfully. 

_ Well that depends.  _ Jesse said. 

_ On what?  _ Kaiba asked.

_ On which monsters Jaden will be using. Jaden has three types of monsters: his Elemental Heroes, his Neo-Spacians and his Evil Heroes. All of them revolve around Fusion Summoning but depending on which monsters he’s playing out will depend on how screwed Masumi’s monsters are going to be. I don’t think he’ll play his Evil Heroes since they are restricted to when Jaden is  _ especially  _ vicious or is in his ‘Haou mode’ as I call it. _

_ That leaves either his Elemental Heroes or his Neo-Spacians.  _ said Mokuba.  _ I remember the Elemental Heroes pretty well. They looked weak in appearance but they’re pretty cool when you fuse them. Oh by the way Seto, didn’t you beat someone who used a deck like that once? Gerard something? _

_ I did. He was a third rate duelist with a fourth rate deck; he was hardly a match for me.  _ Seto answered with a simple shrug of his shoulders. _ _

“Man, you’re vicious,” Jaden said with a sweat drop falling down and a nervous smile on his face. However, he swiftly changed his nervousness to a full blown grin. “But if it’s a duel you want, a duel you’ll get so um… what’s your name?” 

“Masumi Kotsu,” Masumi replied.

“All right then, Masumi,” Jaden said with a nod. “Get your game on!”

“I, the man Gongenzaka, am wondering who will win. Mazumi is a strong duelist, and Serena said ‘Slider Reds’ are quite weak, it seems that it will be an easy duel in Masumi’s favor,” Gongenzaka pointed out. “Yet this boy exudes a lot of confidence in his abilities.”

Yuya and Yugo exchanged a look between them. “On the surface sure but….” Yugo started. 

“Looks can be quite deceiving. I think...I think he’s gonna win this,” Yuya said. “No, I  _ know  _ he’s going to win.” 

“ Alright then I choose the Action Field - Crystal Cavern!” Masumi shouted.

The court shimmered and rippled before Jaden and Masumi stood inside a large cave with numerous blue, green and white crystals forming within the cavern walls. Some crystals were as small as pebbles while there were others as tall as them, casting numerous reflections of themselves.

“Wait hold on! Time out. What’s going on? Wasn’t this some sort of child’s playroom seconds ago?” Jaden asked, looking around the shimmering crystal cave. He approached a crystal and placed his hand over it, surprised at how his hand didn’t phase through. In fact, he was also surprised to see his  _ reflection _ staring back at him. The crystal shimmered and the image of the Haou appeared for a moment.

“It’s an Action Duel,” Yaiba supplied.

“Okay cool but, um…What's an action duel? Can I, like, get the basic run down?” Jaden asked and rubbed his cheek with his finger.

“Huh! He doesn’t know what Action duels are? Then this is going to be an easy win for Masumi!” Shingo said with a smirk on his face, ready to see the defeat and humiliation of this Academia student. “I bet he can’t even use a Polymerization card right!” 

Yugo and Yuya sweat dropped, neither of them know much about Haou or his cards, only their Father has met him before, so they don’t know much about his dueling style either. Him coming around and wearing a Slifer coat knowing it represents the weakest seems more a plot to make people underestimate him, for all they know, fusion might not be his deck. 

“Action Duels are about putting on a show,” Yuzu explained. “You fight alongside your Duel Monsters while showing off athletic feats of skill and using Action Cards to spice things up. Action Duels usually take place in different scenarios like castles, forests, a town from the Wild West and more! There are Action Cards that are scattered all over along with Action Traps, and both duelists can look around for these cards and use them to increase a monster’s attack points, reduce them, negate damage and other effects.”

“That sounds so cool! Wow I wish they taught this back at Duel Academy!” Jaden remarked, excitement and happiness clear in his voice, bouncing on his feet, as if jumping around in a bounce house.

“Ha,” Serena remarked, but it sounded somewhat bitter. “Academia would look down on this type of stuff. They don’t care about fun, everyone only cares about winning no matter the cost.”

_ Like someone we know.  _ Joey remarked, only to get a slap across the back of his head by Seto.  _ OW! _

Mokuba and Jesse chuckled. Yugi and Atem sighed.

Jaden shrugged his shoulders. “Oh well, maybe one day they’ll have a class like that. But hey, if we’re going to be putting on a show, then that means I should wear a costume! Like the one I had on Spirit Day.”

“A costume?” asked Yaiba. “Sheesh, are you sure you’re not a former student of You Show Duel School?”

“Umm….No, don’t think so,” said Jaden, rubbing the back of his head.

“What did your costume look like?” Serena asked. 

“It was red body armor with gold trim and purple orbs from a Breaker the Magical Warrior costume,” Jaden answered. “I also had thick purple gloves -- from Saggi the Dark Clown -- a dark cape with large green shoulder pads draped over the shoulders -- from Celtic Guardian -- and a large purple witch’s hat with red triangles at the base and a yellow pom-pom at the tip, also from Saggi. Strapped to my left arm, but not in the way of his Duel Disk, was a sturdy black shield with grey trim from a Gearfried the Iron Knight costume.” 

“Did he seriously wear that?” Yugo asked. 

“That sounds a bit...ridiculous,” Gongenzaka pointed out. 

Yoko blinked at the implication of the Human Supreme King of Darkness, the one she pictured in her head as the true plague of evil and the ‘Antichrist’, would wear something like that. The outfit was more for a fantasy story than a horror one. 

“Don’t you ever celebrate anything like that at this school?” said Jaden. “I mean, I bet we could have everyone in an Action Field and throw a huge party here and now!”

“How about we start dueling and I grind your monsters to dust?” Masumi snarled.

“Shame,” Jaden said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I mean, actually interacting with Duel monsters when it’s not harmful and it’s just for fun sounds like a great idea,” He said rubbing the back of his head. “Whenever I used to duel in conditions where my monsters are real and not just holograms, I’m fighting for my life. This solid hologram thing seems like the way to a fantastic party. ” 

“AWWW!” Yuzu cooed, looking up at Purple Butterfly flying away from her Lunalight sisters who also wanted to hold Winged Kuriboh. “It’s so CUTE!”

“This is Winged Kuriboh. He’s my partner, got me out of a lot of trouble and helped me out so much,” Jaden explained. 

“Winged...Kuriboh?” Serena said, watching the Winged Kuriboh fly away from the Lunalights only to find itself staring face to face with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Black Mirror Xyz Dragon.

_ “KURI!!!!!!!” _ Winged Kuriboh cried, flying into Reira’s hands and sobbing its eyes out, wanting to be nowhere near any of these monsters.

“Yep, sorry he interrupted your fun, but he just couldn’t help but join in!”

“You also said you wore that costume at the Spirit Festival….” said Serena, remembering the festival and how she dressed up as Mystical Sand. “I don’t remember seeing you there, or anyone wearing what you described.”

“I don’t think you were in the same festival I was in,” Jaden replied. “I even dueled Dark Magician Girl even though the audience hated me for it. She really did charm everyone in the audience, let me tell ya.”

“You dueled  _ Dark Magician Girl _ ?!” Serena exclaimed remembering Téa showing her that card, and the girl who looked exactly like her. The look on her face was mirrored on Yugi and Atem’s. “Oh wow! Wait, why was she there in the first place?”

“Well, it’s because she -- “

“Oh, my god enough with the chit chat! CAN WE FINALLY START DUELING?!” Masumi shouted. She then turned to Yuya and Serena. “AND MAKE THOSE MONSTERS LEAVE NOW!”

“Okay, okay,” said Yuya just before Black Mirror Xyz Dragon started crying. He removed his deck, along with Serena, and the monsters vanished. 

“Ah man yeah, I’m so excited,” Jaden said, activating his duel disk. “Oh, can I make a suggestion?”

“WHAT NOW?!” Masumi roaried.

“I wanna go all out, and I’ve never been in an Action Duel before I wanna experience it fully” Jaden answered. “So instead of 4000 lifepoints, we start at 8000. Is that fair?”

“8000?!”

“Is he insane?!”

“This Slifer guy is going down.”

“Beat him, Masumi! We can’t have another student of LDS lose to Academia!”

“I will,” said Masumi. “Now then, it’s time for me to show you the skills of an LDS student! You’re going down Slifer slacker!”

“I’m glad you’re getting interested in the duel,” said Jaden. “Now then, get your game on!”

“DUEL!”

**Jaden: 8000**

**Masumi: 8000**

As the students in LDS began comments that Jaden was going to lose, Yoko narrowed her eyes.

“...He’s acting strange,” she muttered.

“What do you mean, mom?” Yuya asked.

Yoko sighed, not wanting to see Sora Shiunin in place of Jaden. “Well, Yugo told me that this guy was the  _ Human  _ Supreme King, but so far he’s just smiles and a bouncy attitude like you, Yuya. I don’t get it, though; he doesn’t  _ need  _ to pretend if this is all just for show. We know that he’s from Academia, so why is he putting a front like that? 

“I mean I thought the Human Supreme King would be like… evil incarnate or something, this… kid is kinda  _ adorable _ . He gets excited by the smallest things and we first met him eating a giant rice bowl topped with fried shrimp and mayonnaise. That does not scream, ‘I am the Supreme King of Darkness, hear me roar!’ now does it?”

“We’ll probably see more of this ‘Supreme King’ side when he duels,” Gongenzaka mused. “After all, you can tell one’s character by the deck they use.”

_ Amen to that.  _ Joey replied, and again. Smack across the head.  _ Hey! _

…

…

...

** _What do you think so far? _ ** Zarc asked, looking at Ray. 

** _Hmm...he’s really not what I expected when you said human Supreme King of Darkness. I thought he’d be more...kingly.”_ **

** _“Kingly?” How so?_ **

** _“Oh you know,” _ ** Ray said with a playful smirk.  ** _“Arrogant, boasting, trying to charm every in a five mile vicinity.” _ **

** _I wasn’t that bad. _ **

** _“Sure you weren’t,” _ ** Ray said sarcastically  ** _“But really, he seems like a normal kid, what I expected was either a stoic face or a glare that can wither people.” _ **

…

…

...

“You’re the one who challenged me, so you get the first move,” said Jaden with a bright smile on his face.

Masumi narrowed her eyes as she drew her card. She couldn’t stand how this...this  _ Academia _ student could look so cheerful, knowing just what the people in his Fusion Dimension have done. They carded her friend, and it was because of them that Professor Marco got carded too!

From the corner of her eye, she flinched in surprise. To Jaden’s left was a large green crystal that showed his reflection. But...something was wrong with it. While the real Jaden had warm brown eyes and a big smile on his face, the reflection was tranquil but furious with golden eyes glancing back at her, calculating and cold. The reflection was also wearing black armor trimmed with gold, with a crimson cape draped over his shoulders like a prince from centuries old.

_ Keep it together! _ Masumi said to herself.  _ You can’t lose focus now, not when a war is on the horizon. _

“My move!” she announced. “And I start by playing the Spell Card Gem-Knight Fusion!”

She played her card and Jaden looked in interest; it looked similar to Polymerization with red and blue figures swirling around a white void surrounded by numerous gems.

“Gem-Knight Fusion?” Jaden repeated.  _ Wait...you don’t mean… oh this is going to be  _ really  _ fun! _

“I fuse Gem-Knight Obsidian and Gem-Knight Tourmaline from my hand!”

The images of Masumi’s two monsters appeared -- Obsidian being a black bulky warrior wearing a large black bead “necklace” and Tourmaline was a bright yellow stone soldier with electricity forming in his hands -- before they entered Masumi’s Spell Card.

_ “Gem tinged with lightning. Black stone formed from magma.  _ _ In a whirlpool of light combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance  _ _ Fusion Summon! Gem-Knight Topaz!” _

Emerging from a bolt of lightning was a slightly tall orange Gem-Knight wearing a black cape. His weapons were two yellow tonfas. (1800 ATK)

“Um...come again?” Jaden said, a little taken back at Masumi’s chanting.

_ The Gem-Knights... _ Jesse whispered, seeing Tourmaline look taken aback at who he was facing.  _ It’s been...so long… _

_ You know these guys?  _ Mokuba asked.

Jesse chuckled.  _ Know them? They were the elite soldiers who served under me and Jaden back when I was Johan, Prince of the Crystal Kingdom and Jaden was Haou, Supreme King of Darkness. _

Gem-Knight Topaz looked in horror when he saw Jaden staring at him and took a step back..

_ Nonononononono…. _ Gem-Knight Topaz thought, shaking his head. Of all the duelists to face, it was  _ him _ ?! 

“Hi there!” said Jaden, smiling at Topaz. “But um, what’s with the chanting? I thought that was like… Only a Ra thing.” 

“All duelists have chants to summon their monsters,” said Gongenzaka. “It adds a bit of flair to what the audience is gonna expect in their duels.”

“Oh! So it’s like all for show then, got it,” Jaden said with a nod, still grinning. “I’m definitely gonna try one out on my turn.”

“Gem-Knight Obsidian’s effect activates!” said Masumi. “If Gem-Knight Obsidian was sent from my hand to the graveyard by card effect, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from the graveyard. So come back, Gem-Knight Tourmaline!”

Tourmaline rose onto the field...but when the Gem-Knight looked at Jaden, it took everything he had not to hug Topaz. (1600 ATK)

“That’s not all, Jaden,” Masumi sneered. “I activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion, by banishing a ‘Gem-Knight’ monster in my graveyard, I can bring it back to my hand. So I’ll banish Gem-Knight Obsidian so I can Fusion Summon again!”

Gem-Knight Obsidian appeared on the field before vanishing in a burst of black light. Masumi snatched Gem-Knight Fusion and smirked.

“I’m not done,” she continued. “Next I summon Gem-Knight Alexandrite in Attack Mode!”

Spinning in the air before descending was a white Gem-Knight whose body had numerous gems on its arms, chest and legs. Adorning his heart was a pendant with a blue stone in the center. (1800 ATK)

“And that’s not all. Now I’ll tribute Gem-Knight Alexandrite to summon a Normal ‘Gem-Knight’ monster...like Gem-Knight Crystal!”

Alexandrite breathed a sigh of relief before Gem-Knight Crystal took his place. It looked more like a knight with a feather in his helm, and blue crystal spikes on its shoulders, large blue cuffs on its wrists and a blue crystal on his heart. He looked ready to fight...then began sweating upon seeing Jaden. (2450 ATK)

“Now I play Gem-Knight Fusion once again, and I fuse Gem-Knight Tourmaline and Gem-Knight Crystal!”

Gem-Knight Fusion appeared once more and the two monsters were relieved that they weren’t going to be fighting off Jaden as they were covered in a radiant glow.

_ “Gem tinged with lightning and stone of shining beauty.  _ _ In a whirlpool of light combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance!  _ _ Fusion Summon! Gem-Knight Prismaura!” _

With a roar, the newest Fusion emerged. It wore white armor with gold trim and a red cape, wielding a lance with a purple crystal blade in his right hand and a circular shield with a triangle crystal in the center. Purple crystals spiked out on his shoulders. (2450 ATK)

Prismaura wanted to whimper and hide when he saw Jaden standing there and flinched when another shimmer of light showed Haou in place of Jaden’s reflection. _ You’re sending me to the Gates of Dark World, Masumi-sama!  _ Gem-Knight Prismaura wanted to shout.  _ Not him! Anyone but him! _

“I don’t get it,” said Jaden. “Prismaura has the same attack strength as Crystal, so why did you need to summon him?”

“You’ll see on my next turn,” Masumi replied. “Speaking of Crystal, I banish him from my graveyard so I can take Gem-Knight Fusion into my hand once again!”

“Man, you’re going all out with this, aren’t you?” Jaden said with a grin.

Gem-Knight Crystal appeared, somewhat nervous at seeing Jaden smiling at him before fading away. Gem-Knight Fusion appeared in Masumi’s hand once more.

“I end my turn by placing two cards face-down,” said Masumi, slipping all but one card, Gem-Knight Fusion, into her Duel Disk. “You’re up.”

“All right then!” said Jaden, drawing his card. “And I think I’ll start off by playing the Spell Card Convert Contact!”

Jaden played his Spell Card, depicting a hand holding three cards with the first one on the right being Neo-Spacian Flame Scarab, the one in the middle being Neo Space and the one on the left as Common Soul. The duelist holding these cards was fighting off against Vorse Raider, Swordstalker and Kaiser Seahorse. “So here’s how this card works,” he explained. “If I don’t have any monsters on the field I can send one Neo-Spacian monster from my hand and one from my deck to draw two extra cards.”

“Neo-Spacians?” Yuzu asked. “What are those?”

“I have no idea, I’ve never heard of these monsters before,” Serena said. 

“So I send both Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird from my hand and Neo-Spacian Dark Panther from my deck,” Jaden declared and slipped one card from his hand to the graveyard slot of his Duel Disk before swiping another card that popped out from his deck and into the graveyard. He swiftly made two draws before looking at them with a grin on his face.

However, once again, the look on his reflection’s face was stern, calm, almost omniscient. Masumi shuddered; it seemed similar to the looks Reiji would give whenever he visited the school.

_ Yes! _ Jaden thought, seeing the cards he drew.  _ Just what I needed! _

“Next I use Polymerization,” he continued. The Gem-Knights gave a sigh of relief that it wasn’t Dark Fusion. “So I combine Elemental Hero Avian, and Elemental Hero Burstynatrix, and fusion summon one of my favorite monsters!” 

And then Masumi’s monsters looked like they were about to fight off a humongous dragon as two Elemental Heroes appeared by Jaden’s side: one was a man in a green superhero outfit with a pair of white feathered wings and the other was a woman with ashen-gray skin, long black hair and wearing a red bodysuit.

“The Gem-Knights look like they’re about to shatter with fear,” Yoko pointed out. 

“Yeah it’s scary going against Kings of Darkness. The aura alone would have been enough to pull people to their knees if they so choose,” Yuya said. 

“They fear his wrath and his punishment,” Yugo added. “Please Yoko Kaa-san, you need to stop disrespecting him when you know what he can do. Everyone else here is not in the know, so I think he gives them a free pass, but you really shouldn’t act like you can beat him up when he can break you with a thought.”

“I know I can’t beat him up,” Yoko sighed. 

“You didn’t seem to act like it, going to him like that and demanding answers.”

“I’m just more shocked than anything that you called him ‘Haou-sama’. I mean, he acts more like a kid than a king.”

“You seemed ready to punish him in the face, you looked like you were trying to intimidate him, not the actions of people who are surprised.” 

“Besides, he has no reason to act like a king here,” Yuya said. “He really seems like he wants to have fun, and he seems like he rarely gets to do that. From what we heard the Dark World isn’t inherently a pleasant place after the king was gone twice over. ” 

_ Well then.  _ Burstinatrix smirked.  _ It’s been a while. _

_ Indeed it has. _ Avian noted, flapping his wings.  _ How are you doing? _

_ Oh no!!!  _ Gem-Knight Topaz said, clutching his head in horror.  _ Not...not you two! _

_ We’re done for!!!  _ Gem-Knight Prismaura shouted.

Avian and Burstinatrix flew into the air, transformed into streaks of red and green light as the audience waited to see who would appear.

(And in the security room, Nakajima was looking in alarm at how much energy was being generated from this Fusion alone)

“Oh, I have to make up a chant too, don’t I?” said Jaden. “Okay here goes!”

He took a deep breath and clasped his hands in front of him, eyes briefly glowing gold as he recited,

_ “Hero with the wind beneath his wings and lady of fiery spirit! Fuse your elements together and form a warrior of unbelievable might! Fusion Summon! Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!” _

Rising onto the field is a green warrior with the wings of Flame Wingman but with a red dragon for a right arm. (2100 ATK)

“Was that good?” Jaden asked, looking at everyone silently looking at the new Fusion monster. 

Serena cupped her hands over her mouth before yelling from the side, “It needs some work!”

_ “It was beautiful!”  _ Jesse shouted immediately after.

Jaden sweat dropped. “Yeah I figured. I mean, I did just make it up on the fly.” 

…

…

...

  
  


The appearance of the “Silfer Red” as Serena called him, Jaden Yuki was nothing less of a surprise, but he saw it as maybe an opportunity to learn about more of Academia students and a test to see Masumi’s power once more under the pressure of fighting an Academia student like that, even a weak one. 

The moment Jaden played Polymerization however, Reiji was stunned into silence as he could feel the power emanating from it. He wasn’t surprised when he got the phone call, but what he heard next had stunned him. “What is it Nakajmima? What’s happening?”

“Sir, the fusion energy is off the charts,” Nakajima explained. “We’ve never seen a fusion summoning this powerful before; not even when Obelisk Force attacked.”

_ Not even Yuya, Sora or Serena emitted this much power _ . Reiji mused, recalling the Pendulum Fusions Yuya created: Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.  _ Just who is this kid? _

…

…

…

“Hmph,” said Masumi, staring at Jaden’s monster. “So you know how to use Polymerization, good for you. But I doubt its effect is strong enough to save it from my Gem-Knights, Slifer Red!” 

“Guess we’ll have to wait and see,” said Jaden. “Now then, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman...go after Gem-Knight Topaz!”

Elemental Hero Flame Wingman swooped into the sky, his dragon for a right arm opening its mouth to unleash a burst of fire to incinerate his target.

“I activate my face-down card, Defense Draw!” Masumi shouted. “Not only is battle damage dropped to 0 this turn, but I also get to draw a card!”

Masumi’s face-down card lifted, revealing a barrier defending a duelist who was about to draw a card. Gem-Knight Topaz sighed in relief as a barrier shielded him from being roasted alive while Masumi drew another card. 

_ What’s wrong Topaz?  _ Flame Wingman asked, flying back to Jaden’s side.  _ You’re afraid to face off your teacher? _

_ Yes! Yes I am!  _ Topaz exclaimed.

_ _

“Darn,” Jaden said with a grin on his face. “Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll place one card face down and end my turn. Your move.”

_ “It seems we are dealing with the old knights, do not take this lightly Jaden, _ ” Flame Wingman remarked. 

And at that, everyone’s jaw dropped. 

“Did he just -- “

“Did that monster speak?”

“How is it speaking?!”

“You know I never do, Flame Wingman. Don’t worry.” Jaden said cheerfully.

“It...he...he can _ talk _ ?!” Masumi yelled in panic looking around seeing everyone there with either their jaw dropped or eyes as wide as plates. 

“Yeah they always could talk,” Jaden replied. “I mean, haven’t you heard your Gem-Knights talk to you before?”

“Uh, no!” Masumi replied.

“I, the man Gongenzaka do not think that it was even possible to communicate with your monsters,” Gongenzaka noted.

“Wait really? If you can’t talk to duel spirits, how are we doing that now?” Jaden asked.

_ “It might be due to this ‘Action Duel’ as they call it, we seem to be more… solid as if we are back in the Dark World once more, or empowered by your darkness,”  _ Flame Wingman deduced. _ _

“I see.”

“Wait, you’ve always been able to talk to your monsters?” Yuzu asked. 

“Ever since I was a kid,” said Jaden. “Hey guys, why not introduce yourselves!”

Flame Wingman bowed towards Masumi’s monsters.  _ “Pleasure to meet you, Masumi. And it’s good to see you again, Gem-Knight Topaz and Gem-Knight Prismaura.” _

_ WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE BEING TORTURED BY YOU?!  _ Gem-Knight Prismaura screamed. 

“What are you so afraid of?” asked Masumi. “You have more attack points than him! You guys have been shaking since the duel started. What’s up with you?”

_ You have no idea who we’re fighting!  _ Topaz exclaimed.  _ We’re fighting off one of our LORDS! _

“What do you mean your ‘lords’?” Mazumi asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Is  _ that  _ why you guys are so nervous?” asked Jaden, tilting his head. “You’re worried about mine and Jesse’s wraths?” 

_ YES!  _ Prismaura and Topaz shouted, all while Jesse was laughing at how freaked out the knights were being.

“Yours and Jesse’s wraths? Who the hell is Jesse?!” Masumi shrieked out.

And at that, Jaden’s cheerful smile dropped and he began to look solemn as he looked to the side and had a sad smile on his lips .It was a sharp contrast, and Yuzu felt like it was whenever Yuya would slip his goggles over his eyes to prevent people from seeing him cry.

“He’s...someone very important to me,” Jaden answered. 

“Jesse?” Yuya asked, looking at Yugo, asking him if he knows.

“Prince Johan,” Yugo clarified.

“Oh... _ Oh…”  _ Yuya murmured. 

At this, Yoko frowned. So the Supreme King of Darkness had a love of his life, like Zarc had in Ray. Hopefully Prince Johan didn’t betray and break Jaden’s heart like Ray did.

“Okay, this all feels like a fever dream, am I hallucinating?!” Masumi yelled. 

“Look, if it makes you feel any better, just focus on the duel okay?” 

“Yeah...yeah,” Masumi said, taking a deep breath. She can deal with this later, she had a duel to win. She drew her card and smirked at what luck gave her. “I play the Field Spell Fusion Gate! This will allow us to fuse without the need of a Fusion card, but all monsters used in the fusion are banished.”

Jaden just looked at the swirling dark vortex that was the fusion gate appear on the ceiling beween them and simply smiled. 

“Wait so they can  _ both  _ use it?” Yaiba asked. “Doesn’t that give your opponent an advantage too?”

“It does since both of them are using Fusion,” Yuya said. “It also banishes monsters so they can’t be summoned back from the graveyard.” 

“Is that card really worth it then?” Yoko asked. 

“With the right strategy, yeah,” Serena nodded. “Of course I’ve rarely seen Obelisk Force members successfully use this Field Spell well since they want to Special Summon more and more Ancient Gear Fusions. It’s a last resort if you don’t have Fusion cards in your hand, but it’s a Field Spell, so unless it’s destroyed it’s a permanent fusion gateway as its name implies. Aside from that, some monsters thrive on being removed from the field. So in the right deck, it’s a very good card.” 

“Next I activate my first face-down card, Release From Stone!” Masumi continued. “With this, I can return one of my Banished Rock monsters back to the field. So come back, Gem-Knight Alexandrite!”

Masumi’s first face-down card lifted, revealing a large rock formation and glowing lights shining from within, as if something was about to emerge. A similar rock formation appeared before Alexandrite burst out...and immediately wished he hadn’t when he saw Flame Wingman across from him. (1850 ATK)

“And then, I tribute Gem-Knight Alexandrite to bring out another Normal ‘Gem-Knight’ monster. Come forth Gem-Knight Lapis!”

Alexandrite wiped sweat from his ‘brow’ before he vanished. Then, the next monster to appear was a young girl, in appearance, looked like she was made from clay with magenta trim on her cowl and on the sleeves of her dress and hem of her skirt. She had cool blue eyes and a similar blue stone over her heart. (1200 ATK)

_ Lapis, save yourself!  _ Gem-Knight Topaz cried, standing in front of the young girl.  _ They’re gonna kill us! They’re gonna KILL US! _

Gem-Knight Lapis floated over Topaz’s shoulder and tilted her head. Jaden waved to her and she waved back.

"Hey Lapis!” said Jaden. “My Hero Kids missed you and Lazuli! Let’s have a playdate in the future! Burstinatrix is willing to keep an eye on you."

Lapis blushed and covered her face with her hands. She and Lazuli had fond memories of playing hide-and-seek in the crystal gardens or watching the other Heroes and Gem-Knights train and improve their skills.

Masumi didn’t know how to react to that, but she needed to get back to the duel. “Now with the power of Fusion Gate, I fuse both Gem-Knight Lapis and Gem-Knight Lazuli together!”

Lapis and Lazuli, a girl similar to Lapis but she had dark brown trim instead of purple, green eyes and long pigtails (and strangely no gem on her chest, but a cavity that would be perfect for one), giggled and held hands before they entered the black vortex together.

_ "The blue and green stones that hide mysterious power. Now, become light and appear! Fusion Summon! Level 5! Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli!" _

Descending from the Fusion Gate was the newly formed Lapis Lazuli in her blue and white dressed with the sparkling lapis lazuli gem over her heart. She extended her arms out, the long sleeves of her dress swept out as if she was spreading her wings. (2400 ATK)

_ “Oh hello there,” _ Lapis Lazuli said, tilting her head at Jaden. 

“Hi,” Jaden greeted. 

_ “Don’t say hello to our lord!”  _ Gem-Knight Topaz exclaimed. 

Lady Lapis Lazuli giggled, both hands covering her mouth.  _ "Prince Johan was right, Haou's brown eyes do make him look younger and more innocent.”  _

_ "Lapis Lazuli,  _ please  _ don't get us killed." _ Prismaura begged.  _ “It’s bad enough that Flame Wingman is on the field, but who knows who else is going to appear?!” _

“For the last time, you’re stronger than Flame Wingman!” Masumi exclaimed. “You can beat him easily!”

_ I DON’T WANT TO!!! _ Prismaura whined.

Masumi groaned. “I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli’s effect! I send one ‘Gem-Knight’ from my deck or Extra Deck to the graveyard. Then I can inflict 500 points of damage to your lifepoints for every Special Summoned monster on the field, and I count four!”

As Masumi sent a card to the graveyard, Lady Lapis Lazuli’s hands began to glow before she raised them above her head. Then, four bolts of different colored light fired at Jaden, ready to hit their mark.

“Not so fast, Masumi!” said Jaden. “I activate the Trap Card, Hallowed Life Barrier! By discarding one card from my hand, all battle and effect damage you inflict on me drops to 0!”

Jaden quickly discarded a card as a large barrier formed over his head, deflecting Lapis Lazuli’s effect.

_ What?!  _ Masumi gasped.  _ Such a powerful card. _

_ “Oh, pooh…”  _ Lady Lapis Lazuli frowned.  _ “I didn’t get a chance to strike.” _

_ “THAT’S A GOOD THING!”  _ Prismaura shouted.  _ “Thank goodness it wasn’t Thunder Giant! He was ruthless back when I started training. He’d never stop raining lightning bolts on me, expecting me to catch one like a whip and lash it about like I’m a lion tamer or something!” _

_ “You think that was bad, Flame Wingman constantly kept chasing after me with that fire of his!”  _ Topaz exclaimed.  _ It got so bad I couldn’t stand sitting by a fireplace for years because I was afraid the fire was going to burn me alive!” _

“Will you two stop whining!” Masumi shouted. “Since I have Fusion Gate on the field, Jaden can summon another one of those Elemental Heroes so we have to be prepared for anything!”

“All right, my move,” said Jaden, drawing a card. “And you know what? How about I prove that I’m not a bad guy by using this. I activate Card of Sanctity so that we both draw until we each have six cards?”

“Six cards?!” Yuya gasped. “For  _ both _ duelists?”

Coins began to flood the cave as Jaden and Masumi drew five more cards.

“Why are you doing this?” asked Masumi, staring at her hand.

“It’s because that’s what the card says,” Jaden said. “‘Both duelists draw until they have six -- ‘“

“I mean why are you being like this?!” Masumi clarified. “Nice, joking, excited, chivalrous...Academia is ruthless, cruel, apathetic...if a true Academia student did something like this, it was to benefit them more than to benefit their opponent! If it were me, I’d play a Pot of Greed because sure, I only get 2 cards but it’s 2 cards that  _ you  _ don’t get to have!”

“Well, that’s how you see it, but I see it as evening the playing field,” said Jaden. “So I’m gonna throw down a monster face-down.”

A face-down card appeared next to Flame Wingman.

“And then, I activate the power of Fusion Gate and fuse Elemental Hero Flame Wingman with the monster in my hand -- Elemental Hero Sparkman!”

_ “NOOOOOO!!!!”  _ Gem-Knight Topaz and Prismaura screamed.  _ “Not him! Not him!” _

“What the hell is wrong with you two?! What is Jaden going to summon that’s got you so terrified?” Masumi asked. 

Neither Topaz nor Prismaura answered her. Meanwhile, Lady Lapis Lazuli was giggling and clapping happily.

“And hey, let me join in on the chanting!” said Jaden. “Here it goes!”

Elemental Hero Sparkman -- a warrior in blue and yellow armor with a winged helmet and electricity surging throughout his body -- appeared next to Flame Wingman. The two flew into the air, Flame Wingman surrounded by lightning before his body was covered in golden light.

_ “Hero charged with electricity and the winged hero who braves the flames. Now come forth and harness the power of the sun to bring light upon the field! Fusion Summon! Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman!” _

Light radiated from the Fusion Gate as a white colored Elemental Flame Wingman with gold trim descended, wings outstrectched like an angel about to strike. (2500 ATK)

“Why summon that thing?” Masumi questioned. “All you did was give your old monster a paint job.”

“You’ll see, but first off, my monster gains 300 attack points for every ‘Elemental Hero’ in my graveyard, and there are three of them right now!”

Shining Flare Wingman raised a fist into the air as his power increased by 900. (2500 -) 3400 ATK)

“Three?!” Masumi asked. “Where did the third one come from?”

“You’ll see when the time comes,” said Jaden. “But right now, let’s make this a party...a Cocoon Party that is!”

He played a new Spell Card, depicting numerous baby animals in shimmering bubbles.

“This allows me to Special Summon an equal amount of ‘Chrysalis’ monsters for every ‘Neo-Spacian’ in my graveyard. I sent two ‘Neo-Spacians’ to my graveyard on my last turn, so now I’ll Special Summon their Chrysalis counterparts. Come out and play Chrysalis Chicky and Chrysalis Pantail!”

Two small orbs of light swirled in the air before floating onto the field. The light dispersed, revealing two adorable baby animals encased in bubbles: a chick with bright pink feathers and a kitten with red eyes, navy blue fur and white paws, muzzle and white fur for the tip of its tail. (Chrysalis Chicky: 400 DEF, Chrysalis Pantail: 300 DEF)

“A BABY!!!!” Serena cooed, seeing the adorable kitty in its shimmering bubble.

Chrysalis Pantail turned to Serena and mewed. He attempted to leap out of its bubble to leap into her arms, but only managed to bump his head and mewed sadly, rubbing the top of his head with a paw.

“Oh great,” Masumi groaned. “If its only ability is to kill me with its cuteness, then it’s failing at that.”

“That’s not its ability and that’s not what you should be focusing on,” said Jaden. “Now Shining Flare Wingman, attack Gem-Knight Topaz!”

Shining Flare Wingman flew into the air as white and golden flames struck the tonfa-wielding Gem-Knight before he exploded into orange shards.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Masumi: 6400**

“And with Topaz destroyed, Shining Flare Wingman’s effect activates! You lose lifepoints equal to that of Topaz’s attack!”

Masumi gasped as Shining Flare Wingman fired a blast of white flames at her duel disk, dropping her lifepoints even further.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Masumi: 4600**

“Wait a sec,” said Masumi. “That effect...it’s exactly like Gem-Knight Topaz’s!”

“It is!” said Jaden. “Yeah that’s because Topaz was trained under Flame Wingman in the past!”

“No...that can’t be...this is...this is insane…” Masumi whispered, voice slightly trembling. How could her monsters be related to the monsters of this Academia student? She never knew this duelist before, never fought against these monsters. So...how and why did this Academia student know about  _ her  _ monsters?

No...no, she can’t think about it now. This is all some ploy by this Slifer Red to make her lose her cool. How the fuck is he doing any of this? She narrowed her eyes as she looked at her new hand.  _ Whatever, I have to focus now. In a battle of life and death, there’s no time to think about your monsters. All that matters is victory. _

“I’m gonna end my turn by throwing down a face-down card,” said Jaden, slipping a card into the Spell/Trap Zone slot of his Duel Disk. “Come on Masumi, I wanna see more Gem-Knight Fusions! Say, I wonder to see if Zirconia’s punches are stronger now? Or if Amethyst’s spell absorption abilities are still on top? Oh, what about Citrine and his flaming sword? I wonder if its flames can burn just as powerful as Flame Wingman’s! Oh, have you unleashed the power of Seraphinite ye -- “

“SHUT UP!” Masumi screamed, causing Yaiba to stumble back. Masumi never yelled at her opponent before. “Shut up! Stop talking to me as if you know my monsters! Stop trying to have fun and act like you’re my friend! You’re my opponent! You’re from Academia! You’re the  _ enemy _ !”

“Geez, lighten up,” said Jaden, briefly seeing someone from his past. Someone in a black coat and fierce grey eyes. “I mean, it’s just a duel. What’s the point of if you’re not enjoying yourself?” 

“What’s the point?” Masumi repeated, one of her pink eyes twitching, causing everyone to step back. Masumi looked like a starving tiger, hungry for blood. “What’s the POINT?! You of all people should understand what’s at stake! You might find it fun dueling me, watching me squirm, seeing me mess up so you can turn me into a card but I see it as a challenge between whether or not I live to duel another day or whether or not I turn into...a fuel source apparently! This is all a game to you: see how many people you can defeat and turn into cards. Well listen up, Slifer Scum, I can’t let that happen! I don’t have time to laugh and be all smiles like everyone back at  _ You Show _ \-- “

And if Masumi wasn’t so angry, she would’ve seen two pairs of eyes glowing in anger and disgust.

“Because there’s a goddamn war on the horizon!” Masumi continued. “And you just want to crush me and everyone you come across into pieces, don’t you?”

_ Someone needs to take a deep breath.  _ Seto remarked.

_ You can say that again.  _ Atem muttered.

“No, I don’t,” Jaden said.

“What do you mean you don’t?” Masumi snarled.

“I’m not going to turn you into a card, and I’m not enjoying watching you squirm, I’m enjoying the way you duel,” Jaden explained. “You’re going all out, and I can appreciate that. Do you have any idea how long I’ve gone with a duel that doesn’t have any high stakes in it? This is the most carefree fun I’ve had in a  _ long  _ time. And I understand what you’re feeling right now, Masumi. You’re scared, angry, and you’re worried about what you’re going to lose if you fail. But you have to realise that sometimes, you just have to lighten up. Dueling shouldn’t be about winning or losing. It should be about having fun, creating bonds, making new friends. 

“If you keep on the way you are, you could become someone even you don’t recognize. When war comes, yes you need to fight with everything you got, and never hold back. But this isn’t a battle to the death, and if you start treating every duel like you’re in a battlefield what then? I mean...don’t you like this game?”

“Of course I do!” Masumi exclaimed. “That’s why I’m fighting, because not only do these people have to be taught a lesson but they’re sullying the art of Fusion Summoning! I can’t forgive them for committing such an atrocity!”

“If that’s the case, then why duel me and not Serena?” asked Jaden. “Serena’s the one who’s taking her duels seriously, not me. I told you I’m just happy to duel and have fun, experience Action Dueling, just dueling for the sake of it.”

“Heh,” Yaiba smirked. “If you came earlier, I would’ve challenged you instead of Serena and let Masumi vent out her frustration on those Lunalights.”

“Whose side are you on?!” Masumi roared. “Don’t you want revenge on those who carded Hokuto?!”

Yaiba sweatdropped and dropped his kendo sword. “I mean, yeah but -- “

“Masumi take it from me, you should have fun any chance you’ll get, else what’s the point?” said Jaden. “If you’re not even making yourself happy with what you’re doing then why pursue it? Just try having fun.”

Masumi looked at Jaden, there really was no reason for her to believe that he was lying and that he would card her. Yes it was quite obvious that her Gem-Knights were scared of him but they didn’t seem to hate him, and they called him their Lord. Compared to the footage of Obelisk Force soldiers that invaded her ‘dimension’ days before, Jaden has been nice and peppy from the start and Lady Lapis Lazuli seemed to be enjoying herself as if they had known each other for a long time. 

“Come on Masumi!” said Yuzu. “Jaden just wants to see you smile! It can’t be that hard, right?”

“Yeah, come on!” said Yuya. “I mean, your duel against Yuzu was amazing! You had everyone eating out of your hand!” 

Masumi narrowed her eyes and drew a card, but secretly she was excited. In truth, she wanted to see how this chipper Academia student could match up to her. Seeing people unleash a challenge for her to face exhilarated her.

“My turn!” said Masumi, looking at the card she drew. “You’re gonna regret your act of charity when I’m done with you. First, I play Burial From a Different Dimension to return three Banished monsters back to my graveyard.”

She played a Quick-play Spell Card of a strange oblong capsule with a glass lid. Masumi swiftly returned three cards into the graveyard with a smile.

“And just to make sure I remove that smirk off your face, I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli’s effect again by sending Gem-Knight Emerald from my deck to the graveyard! And since there are more monsters in play, you’re losing 2500 lifepoints!”

“Masumi…” Yuzu whispered worried.

“Oh don’t worry,” said Jaden. “This isn’t the first time I deal with stubborn people like her, I’ll remind her how fun dueling can be.

“And besides, I knew she would try using that effect again, so that’s why I played this.” Jaden said with a smirk. “I activate Cocoon Veil!”

Jaden’s face-down card lifted, depicting the same type of shimmering bubble that protected Chrysalis Pantail and Chicky with a small glowing orb inside it.

“When I’m about to be hit with Effect Damage, I can tribute a ‘Chrysalis’ monster I control. Then not only does this negate it to 0, but I can Special Summon a ‘Neo-Spacian’ that was mentioned in the Chrysalis monster I offered up! So I sacrifice Chrysalis Chicky to summon…Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!”

Chrysalis Chicky began to glow and burst out of its...chrysalis. Then, emerging was a humanoid magenta hummingbird with a pair of large feathery wings like an angel. (800 ATK)

“If you’re going to try fusing again, I won’t let you,” said Masumi. “I play Emergency Provisions to send Release From Stone and Fusion Gate to the graveyard to regain 2000 lifepoints.”

The Quick-play Spell Card appeared as both of Masumi’s face-up Spell and Trap Cards were sucked inside, replenishing her lifepoints.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Masumi: 6600**

“And to make sure your Fusion monster can’t do any more harm to my lifepoints, I activate the effect of Gem-Knight Prismaura! By discarding a ‘Gem-Knight’ card from my hand, I can destroy a monster you control. Go Prismaura, destroy Shining Flare Wingman!”

Masumi discarded a card and Prismaura gulped at how he raised his sword, channeling a bolt of lightning. He brought the sword down and Shining Flare Wingman exploded when the lightning struck his heart.

“Prismaura, that was amazing!” said Jaden. “Thunder Giant taught you well!”

_ Don’t praise me!  _ Prismaura shouted.  _ I don’t deserve to be for attacking Shining Flare Wingman of all monsters! _

“I play Gem-Knight Fusion to fuse Gem-Knight Garnet and Gem-Knight Amber!” Masumi shouted.

Gem-Knight Garnet -- a red armored knight whose right arm was covered in fire -- and Gem-Knight Amber -- a yellow knight with green trim and two yellow daggers in his hands -- swirled into the air with a red and yellow glow.

_ “Blood-seed fire warrior and eternal stone of lightning!  _ _ In a whirlpool of light combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance!  _ _ Fusion Summon! Gem-Knight Ruby!” _

With a roar, a new red knight with a feather motif appeared with cyan and yellow trim on the legs and chest. He wore a blue cape and had a teardrop over his chest. In his hands was a halberd with a curved blade to rip someone into pieces. (2500 ATK)

“Cool! Three Fusions at once!” Jaden said. “I can’t wait to fight those!”

_ Wait, no one told me I’m fighting the Supreme King!  _ Ruby said.  _ Why am I getting into this battle I don’t want to win?! _

“You won’t get that chance,” said Masumi. “I play my Spell Card Particle Fusion and fuse all three of them together to unleash the master of the Gem-Knights!”

Masumi played a new Spell card, of multiple gems spread out from a shining blue background as her three Gem-Knight Fusions began to float into the air, all of them sighing in relief.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Shingo yelled. “She had three monsters all powerful, why not just keep them and swarm the Slifer Red, instead of making your possible defense only one monster?” 

“He has a point. I’ll have more trouble fighting three monsters than one big one,” Jaden agreed.

“That was how she lost to me,” Yuzu muttered. “As good as Masumi is, sometimes she can let her emotions blind her.”

“Trust me,” said Masumi. “You’ll understand when he arrives.”

_ “Now my trio of Gem-Knights, in a whirlpool of light combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance! Fusion Summon! Appear! Supreme radiance who illuminates everything! Gem-Knight Master Diamond!" _

From the light, the newest Gem-Knight Fusion appeared, in his brilliant armor that shone like the stars, his red cape, his raised shoulders. His weapon was a large sword, the blade decorated with seven different colored gems. Unlike the other Gem-Knights, he did not look terrified at fighting Jaden. Rather, and Masumi might have been hallucinating it, she thought she could hear him chuckle as if this was just a meeting between old friends. (2900 ATK)

“Oh wow!” Jaden gasped. “It’s great to see you again, Master Diamond!”

_ It is good to see you again, Haou-sama _ . Master Diamond said, bowing towards Jaden.  _ And the same to you, Shining Flare Wingman. _

_ Heh,  _ Shining Flare Wingman replied.  _ It has been quite a long time, hasn’t it?  _

_ Indeed, it is an honor to battle you again, be it training, or this little game we have.  _ Master Diamond replied. 

_ Agreed old friend.  _ Shining Flare Wingman nodded. 

_ _ “Oh my god, it’s like watching a play,” Masumi whispered to herself before shaking her head. “Anyway! Master Diamond’s effect activates!” she shouted, getting back to the duel. For every ‘Gem-Knight’ monster in the graveyard, he gains 200 attack points! And before you ask, there are now  _ 14 _ Gem-Knights in the graveyard in total!”

The gems on Master Diamond’s sword began to shine, spreading a rainbow-colored light across the field as his stats skyrocketed. (2900 -) 5700 ATK)

“That’s why she used Burial From a Different Dimension,” said Yugo. “So that she could fuel Master Diamond.”

“And why she fused Gem-Knight Ruby first,” Yuya added. “Man, Masumi is on fire today.”

“And here’s his other effect,” Masumi continued. “I can banish a Level 7 or lower ‘Gem-Knight’ Fusion in my graveyard and he can copy its effect until the end of my turn. So I banish Gem-Knight Ruby so that he can inflict piercing damage on your Chrysalis Pantail!”

Gem-Knight Ruby’s image appeared before it was absorbed into Master Diamond’s sword. (5700 -) 5500 ATK)

“Go Master Diamond! Destroy Chrysalis Pantail”

Master Diamond charged into battle, ready to kill the adorable kitten who covered its face with its paws and turned away. Jaden looked around and found an Action Card stuck in a stalagmite of crystals next to him, racing towards it.

“Noooo!” Serena yelled, not wanting the cute kitten to be destroyed. “I can’t watch!”

“Not so fast!” said Jaden, showing off an Action Card. “I activate the Action Card - Light Reflect! And according to this card, I can change the target of your attack. And I choose...my face-down monster!”

“Yay~” Serena cheered, jumping in relief that the little cat will stay on the field. 

Jaden played his Action Card of a beam of light bouncing off of two mirrors before striking a black stick figure. Then, Jaden’s face-down monster flipped over, revealing a glowing green alien with black eyes. (800 DEF) 

_ “Hello there,” _ Glow Moss said with a feminine voice. 

“The alien is talking, the alien is talking!” Shingo shouted.

“What the heck is that?!” asked Yaiba.

“That’s Neo-Spacian Glow Moss,” said Jaden. “And when Neo-Spacian Glow Moss is attacked, you have to draw a card, Masumi. Depending on what you draw, one of three effects will activate. 

“So what do you say. Masumi? Shall we play a game?”

“Um...you’re already playing one,” said Serena.

“No, Jaden’s talking about the film  _ WarGames _ ,” Yaiba replied. When Serena blinked, Yaiba sighed. “You know, some old sci-fi film about a boy accidentally challenging an AI used  _ by the military _ to a video game, not knowing he was close to starting a war?”

“Um...if Jaden’s from Academia, how does he know that movie?” Yuzu asked. “I mean considering Serena had never even watched one before two nights ago.”

“Do people in Academia  _ not  _ watch movies?” Yaiba asked dumbfounded. 

“There are no movies in Academia,” Serena said simply. “Or video games, or books, or music…”

“...I’m starting to pity you,” Yaiba whispered. 

Glow Moss raised her hands open in front of her chest and three orbs appeared making a triangle, green on top and yellow and pink beside each other. Each started to glow one after the other.

“You’re trying to save yourself based on luck alone?” asked Masumi. “How pathetic.”

_ Hey, I did that plenty of times and it’s saved my keister!  _ said Joey.

_ “Yes it’s a good thing that you stopped and started using actual good cards,” _ Kaiba deadpanned. 

_ Yeah it’s a good thing, I -- HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! _

“But fine, if I must,” said Masumi. “I draw!”

_ I have a two in three chance to get this right.  _ Jaden thought.  _ Please let it be a Monster or a Spell Card... _

With a swift movement, Masumi drew her card, and Glow Moss’ yellow orb glowed, making Jaden smirk. There was silence as Gem-Knight Ruby’s polearm was just seconds away from slicing Glow-Moss in half. Then, Masumi flipped her card, revealing it to be Gem-Knight Sapphire.

“A monster!” said Yaiba. “Wait, what does that mean?”

“It means that the Battle Phase ends right here, right now,” said Jaden.

Mazumi growled, gritting her teeth. 

“Phew, that was close!” said Jaden. “Action Cards are an interesting way to make a duel much more fun! Is that all, Masumi?”

“Yeah,” Masumi said. “I end my turn.”

“Now then, my turn!” said Jaden, drawing his card. “And would you look at that? It’s Pot of Greed! That means I get two more cards!”

Jaden played the well-known Spell Card before taking two new cards into his hand.

“Next, I play the Spell Card Cocoon Rebirth! This allows me to swap a ‘Chrysalis’ monster I control for a ‘Neo-Spacian’ in my graveyard. So I send Chrysalis Pantail to the graveyard to bring back Neo-Spacian Dark Panther!”

Jaden played a Continuous Spell Card showing three chrysalis glowing from the inside like sparkling eggs Chrysalis Pantail meowed before it was covered in light, the chrysalis shielding him broke apart as he grew bigger and his meows became savage roars. When the light faded, there stood a panther with ebony fur and large wings on its back. (1000 ATK)

“And then, I activate the effect of Air Hummingbird! He gives me 500 lifepoints for every card in your hand!”

Masumi gasped as bright pink flowers bloomed on top of each of her cards. Air Hummingbird flew towards her and used his beak to suck the ‘nectar’ from the flowers.

_ “Thanks for the meal!”  _ Air Hummingbird said, saluting Masumi before flying back to Jaden’s field.

**Jaden: 9500**

**Masumi: 6600**

“He didn’t even need those extra life points...” Yoko said. 

“And here comes the finale!” said Jaden. “I play Monster Reborn to bring back Shining Flare Wingman!”

Emerging from a large white crystal formation, Shining Flare Wingman returned, wings unfurled. (2500 -) 3400 ATK)

“And then, I equip Shining Flare Wingman with this! Rainbow Veil!”

Jaden played another Spell Card, showing Dunames Dark Witch summoning a rainbow to protect her. Then, a rainbow ribbon wrapped itself around Jaden’s Fusion Monster.

“Big deal,” said Masumi, ignoring how Master Diamond became silent. “He still can’t win you the duel. You’re surrounded by weak monsters compared to my Master Diamond!”

“Oh don’t worry there’s more,” said Jaden with glee, and Masumi blinked in surprise when Jaden showed off the last card in his hand. “I play O - Oversoul, which lets me bring back one Normal ‘Elemental Hero’ monster from my graveyard.”

“A Normal Monster? But the strongest you have in there is Burstinatrix!”

“Really?” asked Jaden with a cat-like grin on his face. “I think you wanna check your Duel Disk again.”

“Don’t try to trick me, Slifer Red!” Masumi snapped, pressing some buttons on her Duel Disk so that it displayed Jaden’s graveyard. “I know I’m rig -- WHAT?! How did that get there?”

“When I played Hallowed Life Barrier I discarded a card, remember?” Jaden asked just as Masumi saw the Trap Card right next to the monster Jaden was going to summon. “So here he is, ladies and gentlemen, meet a brand new hero hailing from Neos Space itself! Please welcome…. _ Elemental Hero Neos _ !”

Jaden played his Spell Card of a large lavender ‘O’. Then, from Spell Card, a bulky white warrior, no  _ alien _ , with two vertical lines on its body, a blue antenna and black hands, curled into fists emerged. The blue orb on his chest began to glow as he was ready to strike. (2500 ATK, Shining Flare Wingman: 3400 -) 3100 ATK)

Master Diamond laughed.  _ Neos! Great to see you again after all these years. How have the crusades into Neo-Space been for you? _

_ They have gone well, Master Diamond.  _ Neos said.  _ I have learned a lot, as you shall soon see. _

“W-what are you even trying to do?” asked Masumi. “You just brought out another weak monster and made your strongest monster weaker.” 

“I’m going to Fusion Summon a brand new monster!” Jaden declared. 

“What? Did you forget that Fusion Gate is no longer on the field? And you don’t have any more cards in your hand. You’re done for, Jaden! No wonder you’re a Slifer Red.”

Jaden chuckled. “See that’s where you’re wrong. The monster I’m fusing  _ doesn’t _ need a Polymerization card. As long as I have Neos and at least one Neo-Spacian on the field then they can combine together to make a brand new monster!.”

“What?!”

“What do you mean it doesn’t need Polymerization?!”

“That’s not fair!”

“You’ve never heard of my Neo-Spacians, but you will now,” said Jaden, ready to knock everyone’s socks off. “Cause these guys just love to work together, you see.”

“No!” Masumi gasped.

“Wait!” Yaiba asked. “Is that an actual thing? Can he Fusion Summon without a Fusion card?” he asked Serena.

“Yeah” Serena replied. “I know that most archetypes have their own version of the Polymerization card but this is very rare. I only know one archetype that can do that; it's mostly for the Gladiator Beast archetype. There’s this strict teacher called Colonel Sanders who’s a master at this deck and legends states that there’s a wickedly powerful duelist known as the ‘Battle Beast’ that would make the worst of the  _ worst _ here look like kittens.”

“Worse than Kachidoki?” asked Yaiba, still recalling Kachidoki’s brutal strikes and kicks before he could even take a step forward.

“Who?” Serena asked, not having been there when Kachidoki had dueled Yaiba or Yuya.

“He’s from a brutal dueling school that’s all about doing anything it takes to win,” Gongenzaka said. “They will attack and strike back and the students in there are not allowed to go see their parents until they become champions. And losing is seen as weakness in their eyes.”

“Like Academia…” Serenity muttered.

“Yeah,” Yaiba said with a nod. 

Serena sighed and had her attention back on the duel. “I’ve never seen these cards before though, never heard of ‘Neo-Spacians’ until today. I had no idea any other archetype has the same ability.”

“What’s the ability called?” asked Shingo.

“It’s called ‘Contact Fusion’.” Serena answered. 

“Well this is your lucky day! Because I’m gonna be fusing Neos with not one, not two, but  _ three _ Neo-Spacians! I fuse Elemental Hero Neos with Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Dark Panther and Glow Moss! Let’s go everyone!  _ Contact Fusion _ !” Jaden said, raising his hand up into the air.

On the ceiling of the crystal cave a myriad of stars appeared like a new galaxy showing, as Neos and the three Neo-spacians flew towards it and a brilliant light appeared. 

…

…

…

The monitors were turning into static. Nakajima’s stoic mask was gone and he was looking wide eyed at the screen, at the Fusion Energy being unleashed just by these four monsters alone. This never happened before, not with Yuya, not with Sora, not with Obelisk Force, not even with an entire duel arena full of duelists! Masumi’s multiple Fusion Summonings in this duel barely reached  _ a quarter _ of the energy being produced by this Contact Fusion. What the hell could that mean? 

…

…

...

_ “Galactic hero from Neo Space, fury of a black panther, speed of a hummingbird and radiance of...uh, shining moss! From the depths of the stars, come in contact and collide into a brand new and marvelous form! Contact Fusion! Elemental Hero Cosmo Neos!” _

Six bursts of light erupted and struck numerous crystals as the new Neos appeared. It had a black and cyan spiked mask with red eyes. The same cyan was seen on the shoulders and hips. His left hand was made of rock with veins of magma and his right hand was black with sharp claws for nails. He also had  _ two _ pairs of wings: a pair of grey wings like a large bat and a second pair made of metal like two blades. His legs also had black armor and numerous cyan crystals over the knees and feet. He looked ready to unleash a powerful storm upon his opponents. (3500 ATK)

_ You have improved so much!  _ Master Diamond said.  _ Well done. _

Cosmo Neos nodded his head.  _ This is the true power of Neos Space, Master Diamond. Remember it well. _

_ Whoa…. _ Joey said in awe.

“He looks amazing,” Serena said. 

“Man that took a lot of set up to summon,” Yugo pointed out and Yuya nodded. 

“Cosmo Neos’ effect activates!” Jaden shouted. “You can’t stop him from being summoned, and once he’s on the field you can’t activate any spells, traps or monster effects for the rest of this turn.” 

“There’s a problem with that,” said Masumi. “Master Diamond doesn’t have any effects to activate, so he’s still standing tall at 5700 attack points!”

“Did you forget something?” said Jaden, pointing to his other Fusion monster. “I equipped Shining Flare Wingman with Rainbow Veil. So now the monster Shining Flare Wingman attacks gets their effects negated, and that means your Master Diamond goes back to 2900 attack points.”

“WHAT?!”

“And with no way to defend herself, Masumi’s a goner!” Gongezaka gasped.

“Did that Slifer Red really -- “

“Masumi’s done for! She can’t even use a Damage Banish to reduce damage to 0!”

“Not when that alien is on the field.” 

The students’ comments on this was not helping Masumi at the slightest.

“Go Shining Flare Wingman! Attack her Master Diamond with Solar Flare!”

Shining Flare Wingman obeyed, flying quickly towards Master Diamond, who could do nothing except plant his sword onto the cave floor to brace himself. (5700 -) 2900 ATK). Shining Flare Wingman drew his hand back and with one punch, destroyed Masumi’s monster with ease.

Master Diamond stood still for a second...before cracks formed around his body and he shattered into diamond dust.

**Jaden: 9500**

**Masumi: 6400**

“Oh and don’t forget Shining Flare Wingman’s effect!” said Jaden Now that he destroyed your monster, you lose lifepoints equal to his attack.”

“Shit…” Masumi cursed. 

Shining Flare Wingman raised his right arm into the air, the dragon opening its mouth before a concentrated beam of light struck Masumi, making her slide back, as the light shined brighter and she lost even  _ more  _ life points.

**Jaden: 9500**

**Masumi: 3500**

“Masumi has just enough lifepoints for Cosmo Neos to end the duel here and now!” Yugo gasped.

“And for the finale, Cosmo Neos do your thing!” Jaden shouted. “End the duel with  _ Grand Cosmic Megaflare _ !” 

Cosmic Neos flew to the sky as a large blue and red blast of fire formed above his head. Masumi whimpered as she knew that nothing could save her. All she could do was shield herself as the attack struck and her lifepoints whittled all the way down to 0.

**Jaden: 9500**

**Masumi: 0**

“And that’s game,” Jaden said, making the V sign and pointing it to his opponent. “Sweet duel, Masumi.”

As the Action Field dispersed, Masumi slowly rose to her feet. This...this couldn’t be possible. She was beaten by her own summoning method by an  _ Academia _ student, and the one from the weakest  _ class  _ of all things! 

“This Academia kid didn’t lose a single lifepoint and floored Masumi like she was nothing!” Yaiba gasped. And he should know; he’s sparred with Masumi plenty of times to know that her Gem-Knights could be very unpredictable.

“Oh come on, I have a name ya know,” Jaden called.

“So his deck is filled with Superheroes and adorable aliens yet he somehow was capable of trouncing one of the best Fusion Duelists of this dimension. What does that tell us about him?” Yoko said jokingly, looking at Gongenzaka. 

“It tells us that underneath his happy-go-lucky exterior is a strong and powerful duelist,” Gongenzaka answered. “Kinda like Yuya. He seems weak, which would make people underestimate him, but there is a hidden strength underneath, like his Neo-Spacians.”

“He isn’t someone to be reckoned with, but I still can’t see him being the so-called Human Supreme King,” Yoko sighed. “Yugo, are you  _ sure  _ that that’s him?” 

“It is,” Yuya said. “Father says so. That is Haou, Supreme King of Darkness.” 

“This...the way he acted it can’t be  _ just  _ an act, he seemed to believe in all he was saying to Masumi, and he was never cruel or prideful like Sora had been -- hiding his sadistic streak under an innocent and cheerful facade.” Yoko gritted her teeth; she can’t believe Sora used her love of cute things against her. And even if she did pick up on the whole “Where I come from, everyone uses Fusion” line, there was no way in hell she’d know about the dimensions thing at all. 

“It’s not an act, that’s the way Jaden is according to Father,” Yuya clarified. “But he has another side, one that comes out only when he’s angry or in despair. When that happens, the darkness takes over and turns him into the Supreme King. And even then, Haou is not a sadist. He is powerful and efficient, his authority is unquestionable. You’ll never see him act like Sora ever did. Haou isn’t a child playing on being a powerful soldier. He is a king, king of the Dark World and if he wants something then he’ll do whatever it takes to get it done.” 

“So...we can trust him?” Yoko asked. 

“Without question. Especially when he’s Jaden.” 

“I guess…” Yoko said. 

....

…

…

Dennis looked with wide eyes and slack jaw at this Academia kid. This guy was no way in hell a Slifer Red. He was powerful, someone like that would surely have taken the Professor’s notice, and would have given him his own mission, like him or Sora or Yuri. Who  _ was  _ he? Why has Dennis never seen this guy before in his life or heard of him?

…

…

... 

“So...Am I gonna get carded now?” Masumi asked bitterly. 

Jaden blinked. “Carded?” Jaden asked. “No why would I wanna card you? Why would I card anyone for that matter?”

“I mean…” Masumi started. “You’re Academia right? It’s what you do.” 

“Oh man…guess I didn’t explain it well...Actually to be fair you didn’t  _ let  _ me explain.” 

Masumi blinked. “Explain what?” 

“I’m not from Academia...Well...not the Academia you know and fear.”

“There’s more than one?!” 

(Dennis blinked, having no idea what the guy was talking about.) 

“It’s uh...Kind of a long story.” 

“Well, we’re listening,” Masumi said, folding her arms. 

“Okay, so you know about four dimentions right? The ones you call Standard, Fusion, Synchro and Xyz,” Jaden said

Masumi nodded. “Yeah.” 

“Okay, so, there used to be a time when these four dimentions used to be one.”

“Used to be one?!” Shingo asked and Reiji’s eyes widened. The other students also looked in shock. 

Jaden nodded. “Right. It was all one dimension. Duel Academy, the one I came from, the original one, was not a military training camp. It was a normal duel school that had kids from around Japan learning to become better duelists, and to get their own careers in dueling. Well...but my Academia years were full of a... lot of things.

“Currently, I’m one of the few people who remember the world as it used to be. I mean, tell me something...Who here can tell me the origin of Duel Monsters?” Jaden called. 

Masumi opened her mouth before closing it, not having an answer. Duel monsters have...always been there...it always existed, no one ever thought about where it originated from. In fact, no one, not even  _ Reiji _ , could answer Jaden.

Yuzu nodded her head. She had asked that question herself when she and Serena talked the first night they were together.

“See? None of you can tell!” said Jaden. “So, wow, this is the first time I get to lecture so, here’s how it goes!

“Duel Monsters, the game was made by a man named Maximilian Pegasus. One day he traveled to a land called Egypt, their skin color is closer to yours Masumi. Most of its land is made of sand, and full of pyramids and monuments. There Peagsus found these ancient tablets with monsters carved on them, and was told that the ancient egyptians played dangerous games called the Shadow Games, and these creatures on the tablets were part of one of the games that were played. So Pegasus used his money and company to make the first version of the game.” 

“ _ First _ version?” Masumi asked.

“What do you mean by that?” Gongenzaka asked. 

“The game went through other versions as time went on,” Jaden explained. “Since all Pegasus had to work with were the Egyptian tablets he only funded the way the Egyptians summoned these monsters. Tribute, Ritual and Fusion. It was like that for about twenty years, and within the first few years, one of the big duel corporations rose, Kaiba Corp. It used to be a weapons of war manufacturing corporation before the heir to the company, Seto Kaiba, took it over and reshaped it to make it a toy company. President Kaiba loved the game, he made his own theme parks and tournaments, and years later he funded and built Duel Academies around the world.”

Everyone took in Jaden’s word while Kaiba smiled a little...and it was a genuine one.

“What happened next? And if the first version of the game only used  _ three  _ summoning methods how did it acquire the other two before pendulum?” Yuzu asked, curious to know. 

“It was twenty or so years after I graduated, along with a deal with Kaiba Corp, they found more tablets and history to these monsters, that’s when they discovered Tuner Monsters along with Synchro monsters, and a new type of monster and summoning method was created.” 

“Twenty years?!” Yoko asked. “But...but Synchro Summoning exists! People learn it right now, and there’s a dimension that’s all about it.” 

“Yeah,” Jaden nodded. “I mean, doesn’t anyone find that weird? Why is it one summoning method per dimension and no one has any clue about the others?”

“It...it really is…” Yaiba said. 

Jaden nodded again. “The four dimensions strangely enough seem divided as to where the most important moments of said dueling methods happen. The dimension you call Synchro is based on Neo-Domino city. Fusion has the island that Duel Academy was built on. As for Xyz...well it was honestly long after Neo-Domino, so I’m not too sure about it.” 

“Heartland,” said Yuzu, recalling Shun’s anger at the Action Field he was in.

“Wait if that’s true...why do you look this young?” Masumi asked. 

“Well, two reasons...One, when the dimension was split, some people were either reborn or transported into each of these dimensions regardless of age, it was mostly to strike a balance and get things in order for each time period and dimension,” Jaden explained.

“And the second one?” Serena asked. 

“Well...I don’t age, haven’t for years,” Jaden explained. 

“WHAT?!” Were the yells from all around. 

“I’ve been through a lot in my time in Duel Academy,” Jaden answered. “And after a certain incident I just...stopped aging.” 

“What do you mean went through a lot?” Yuzu asked, wondering if the rumors that Serena had heard actually were true to an extent. 

“Well, I guess my very first Shadow Duel in the Abandoned Dorm was how it all started. There’s this dorm on the island that has the Millennium Items carved over its walls and has a door that leads to something called the Shadow Realm. And before you ask, it’s an unpleasant doorway between dimensions, I don’t recommend it to anyone unless you have power over Darkness.” 

“The first? What were the others?” Yuya asked.

“What are Millenium Items?” Yoko asked. 

“Oh well, Shadow Riders, The Society of Light, other dimensions filled with dangers...” 

“Wait, did you say ‘Shadow Riders’?!” Serena gasped before Jaden could continue. “You fought the Shadow Riders?!”

“Oh yeah I did, twice over in fact, the first time around and after I got some of my powers back.” 

“So is it true then?” asked Serena, eyes wide. “Is one of them really a vampire? And one leads a band of thieves who disguise themselves as school personnel? One of them was actually a _tiger_, right? Did you duel the pharaoh with the undefeated winning streak?”

“Yeah. The vampire was Camula -- she actually beat Professor Crowler and Zane before Alexis’ brother helped me out -- and this was  _ after  _ he was revealed that he was the first Shadow Rider, called himself Nightshroud and was brainwashed. But oh man, Nightshroud was something  _ else _ , let me tell you.”

Serena’s eyes shone as Yaiba, Masumi, Shingo and Gongenzaka looked in utter confusion at what she brought up. 

“Vampires don’t exist,” Masumi pointed out. “You dueled a  _ tiger  _ and there was even a  _ band of thieves _ at Academia? What type of school is this?!”

_ Thank you!  _ Seto shouted.

“Camula was the last of her kind and Tania wasn’t a tiger when I dueled her,” Jaden elaborated. “She just transformed into one. As for the pharaoh, Abidos the Third, he wasn’t unbeatable. You see, Abidos’ servants actually let him win, but I made him let go of his streak and he even tried to take me to his kingdom and gave me this sweet crown!” 

_ Wait a second...unbeatable...Abidos?!  _ Atem exclaimed.  _ Jaden dueled  _ Abidos _ ?! _

_ You know him?  _ Seto asked.

_ Unfortunately. He’s from  _ your  _ bloodline, Seto.  _

_ ...WHAT?! _

“Okay, now you’re being crazy,” said Masumi.

“I’m just stating the truth,” Jaden replied. “But the Shadow Riders were still dangerous since they were looking for something very...powerful. If they fell into the Professor’s hands. And just like last time, I took them before the Professor even realized what was hidden in ‘his’ school.”

“Took...what?” asked Serena.

“Far beneath the Academy a few cards were locked away, they were one of the most powerful and corrupt cards of all time, their presence alone drains the duel spirits of their power and life. I had to take them this time,” he explained, returning the cards into the pocket of his pants. “I couldn’t trust anyone in  _ this  _ Academia not to try and do something crazy with them. The first time I dueled them, the Duel Spirits became weaker and weaker. I couldn’t let that happen; who knows what could be unleashed if these cards are played this time around?”

“So you’re not gonna use those in the future, right?” asked Shingo.

“No way, these guys are bad news. And besides, they’re not my style,” Jaden answered.

_ Those Evil Heroes of yours are.  _ Jesse remarked.

“My Evil Heroes are vicious but they don’t suck the life out of everything around them,” Jaden remarked to his side as if talking to someone.

“Huh?” asked Yaiba. “Uh, who are you talking to? Sheesh, are all Fusion Dimension duelists nuts?”

“Care to say that again?” Serena growled, cracking her knuckles, and Masumi gave him the death glare.

Yaiba yelped and took a few steps back, making Jaden chuckle. Man, that did not look like the same girl who was just playing with the fluffy scenery in the past duel.

“Trust me, those three Shadow Riders I mentioned weren’t even the craziest I fought,” Jaden replied, starting to count on his fingers. “There was a dueling monkey, the duelist who stole Yugi’s deck and then imitated him, the one with the Game Show deck, the princess who thought her frogs were handsome princes…And one of my friends was obsessed with koalas and grilled cheese sandwiches! He wasn’t that great of a duelist but he was an amazing artist. Luckily President Pegasus took him under his wing and let him work in industrial Illusions. He came back to Duel Academy when one of Peguasus’ employees made a fake Winged Dragon of Ra card!”

_ WHAT?!  _ Joey exclaimed.  _ Damn it, wasn’t facing one of these things enough? _

“Winged Dragon of Ra?” asked Serena. “Is that dangerous?”

“Yeah. He’s one of three, they’re called the Egyption Gods, they’re the most powerful monsters in the dueling world, Obelisk the Tormentor, Winged Dragon of Ra and Slifer the Sky Dragon. To put it in perspective, the cards I just showed you? The Winged Dragon of Ra and his buddies are  _ ten times more powerful than them,  _ probably enough to go toe-to-toe with Exodia. And I should know; there was this duelist who tried to invade the Dark World with that monster!”

“Okay I have so many questions!” Serena said, looking really excited with a gleam in her eyes. “Is it also true that there’s some man in a silver coat and a dragon helm that goes parading about?”

“You mean Kaibaman?” Jaden asked. “Oh yeah, I dueled him once. He helped me out after my encounter with Camula. I was actually pretty worried back then, Shadow Duels and Shadow Riders and all that, but he gave me a sweet duel and reminded me how much fun dueling really is, and not to always worry about it. I think he had President Kaiba’s deck or something like that...but he was much nicer than the real deal, a true ally of Justice if you ask me,” he chuckled. rubbing the back of his head. 

_ Oh that’s so sweet of you.  _ Joey teased and Seto was close to shocking Joey with a bolt of White Lightning. In truth, after Zarc mentioned the story of Kaibaman’s trek to resurrect him and Mokuba, Seto spent a few hours in silent thought, shifting through Kaibaman’s memories like he was watching a film of someone else’s life.

“ _ President _ Kaiba?” Gongenzaka repeated, trying to get a handle at the names being mentioned.

“Yeah, he was the President of Kaiba Corp. And one of the best duelists in the world. He was the one who created the duel hologram technology, and was second only to the first King of Games, Yugi Muto. Heck, Yugi even Winged Kuriboh, he is such a great friend and partner.”

Seto looked at Winged Kuriboh and sighed. _ “I will never understand why you gave him that of all monsters, _ ” he muttered, glancing at Yugi.

_ “Winged Kuriboh wanted to be with Jaden, besides, I’ve already met him before, I knew he’d need him as a friend and a partner.” _ Yugi answered. Seto just groaned in annoyance. 

“You didn’t answer though, kid,” said Yoko. “What are the Millenium Items?” 

“Oh, well you see, these items were tools to control the shadows and the power of Darkness by the Pharaohs of Egypt and their court, but that power came with a steep price. For you see it needed souls, people's souls as a sacrifice to make these Items and --“

“Stop, stop, no, let’s not go there,” Yoko interrupted, noticing the look of disgust on Yuzu’s face. “I know how that’s going to end and the last thing we need is a detailed history of nearly a hundred souls wanting vengeance on the guy who commanded they’d be sacrificed/they wanted someone to avenge their deaths. Oh and, let me guess,  _ one _ person survived the onslaught, became traumatized and wanted revenge on the ones who caused the massacre and nearly plunged the entire world into chaos.”

Jaden paused. “Huh...that’s actually kinda accurate.”

“It WHAT?!”

“Moving on!” said Jaden. “Yeah apparently it was later revealed that three of them were associated with light, three were associated with darkness and the seventh one, the MIllennium Puzzle, was the one that balanced those two forces out.”

_ “Jaden...how do you know about any of that?” _ Atem asked.

Jaden looked a little sheepish, rubbing his cheek with his finger. “Would you believe the Millennium Items are the one thing I paid attention to in class?” 

“Who are you  _ talking  _ to?” Masumi asked. 

“I’m talking to...spirits,” Jaden simply answered. 

“Spirits? Duel Spirits?” asked Yuzu believing she knew who was actually there, even if they hid themselves.

“Mhm,” Jaden nodded. 

“Don’t worry, they're friendly, think of them as...Guardians, they’re here to help.” 

“Wait, there are  _ ghosts  _ here?” One student asked

“I mean monsters just talked in his and Masumi’s duel, so I’d believe it,” another student said

“Yeah.”

“Yeah…” Agreement went all around, after everything they’ve seen and heard, none of them would doubt Jaden’s words about there being duel spirits around. 

“What else did you go through in Academia? In your Academia, I mean,” Yuzu asked.

“Oh well, as I said there was the Society of Light, which wanted to brainwash people to let them destroy the earth, other dimensions, zombies…” 

“ZOMBIES?!” Serena shouted, still reminded of the film from the night before. 

“Yeah the Duel Zombies or ‘Duel Ghouls’,” Jasen repeated with a nod. “They just kept coming after you over and over even after you beat them and if they beat you, you become one of them.”

“What type of person would turn students into  _ zombies _ ?” asked Gongenzaka. “I mean, did those students do something to that person like slaughter their family?” 

“No… Yubel was kinda… driven mad back then…” Jaden answered softly, feeling a pang of guilt in his heart.

“Yubel?” asked Yuzu. “Is he…”

“She...or rather, they...just go with either pronoun,” Jaden clarified. “That’s another long story that I can’t get into right now. Now, where was I? Oh right!

“So there was a humongous battle that ended with the world split into four and making extra dimensions aside from the original twelve. Professor Akaba’s now obsessed with making the four dimensions one because he thinks that the dimensions are inferior or the likes.”

_ “And he’s using  _ my _ school to convert children into brainwashed soldiers!” _ Seto snarled.

“Twelve?!” Masumi shrieked. “ _ Twelve _ other dimensions?!”

“Yeah so now there are fifteen,” Jaden answered. “During that battle, souls living or dead were called to power up one side of this fight. But it caused an imbalance, and these souls fell to darkness. Me being the Supreme King of Gentle Darkness was somewhat immune, and it couldn’t absorb my soul so I was sent to Academia’s shores. The rest as far as I know were either swallowed by Darkness or transformed into Dragon Vassals like the ones you see before you, while many of the women became Calamity Witches.” 

“Calamity Witches?” asked Yugo, remembering sensing something like that yesterday. “Like that one in the violet getup with blond hair and eagle claws?”

_“Violet getup, blond hair and eagle claws?_ _Wait _Mai _was there? _Joey asked. _“And I missed her? Man! I hadn’t seen her in so long.” _

“She didn’t stay long; just long enough to stare at those bikers and then vanished,” Yugo explained.

_ “She must have been there to make sure Raphael, Alister and Valon were okay; she was under the Orichalcos' influence too _ .” Atem elaborated.  _ Trust me, that sort of temptation for power is subtle but can overwhelm you if you’re not careful. _

Yugo nodded and squeezed Atem’s hand, before pulling it to his lips and kissing it. Atem’s face went a little red. All Yugi did was give him a soft loving smile, which Atem mirrored. 

_ “So… one of the curriculums in your Duel Academy was about the Millenium Items?”  _ Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow. 

_ “Least there weren’t any lessons on the Quantum Cube,” _ Joey hissed, amber eyes glaring at Seto.

Seto glanced at Joey and frowned. “Are you  _ implying  _ something,  _ mutt? _ ”

_ “No~,” _ Joey replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.  _ ‘I’m just glad that Jaden didn’t know about how you nearly destroyed our world because you just couldn’t let Atem rest in peace and then you decided that defeating Aigami and nearly having all of us be disintegrated wasn’t enough, so you decided to journey into the afterlife for one more goddamn duel without even saying goodbye to any of us, and leaving your company in the hands of your little brother who has a very high chance of being kidnapped. _ ” He growled like a wolf hungry for blood. _ “You are so goddamn lucky I held off my dreams of being a professional duelist to protect him until you dragged your sorry ass out of the Land of the Dead! And also lucky that I made it out that hellhole before I was a goner!” _

There was a pause as Seto briefly looked away from Joey. For the first time in a while, the CEO of Kaiba Corp. looked...guilty. Mokuba said nothing. He didn’t want to remember those horrible days waiting for his brother to return home. Like in that epic,  _ The Odyssey _ , where Penelope waited for Odysseus to return from the Trojan War and the additional ten years where he had to travel home after going through hardship after hardship.

_ “Joey…” _ said Atem.  _ “You know that Kaiba didn’t mean it like -- “ _

_ “Didn’t mean it?!” _ Joey snapped.  _ “Well excuse me, your highness, but if he didn’t mean it then he wouldn’t have done it in the first place! Kaiba’s ego is so godsdamn big, he would put everyone on the like just ta prove that he’s the best! And that wasn’t the first time either, was it? Remember Anubis and the Pyramid of Light? Cause I sure do! If it weren’t for your goddamn ego coming in to stop you from attacking Yugi at the last second, we’d all be in a world of hurt! Is defeating Yugi and Atem the only thing that you care about?!” _

_ “Joey -- “ _ Yugi whispered. He knew how much Joey had a personal dislike for Kaiba, but this was the first time in a while that Joey fully let loose how much he  _ hated _ the CEO.

_ “I don’t care that he has money or how he promised Mokuba he’d return, the moment he had the opportunity to leave he did it without second thought. Yeah, his kid brother is smart but you left Mokuba alone with no guarantee that we would be there for him!” _ Joey shouted, grabbing Seto’s arm, whirling him around so the two were face-to-face and grabbing his collar. _ “Ya know, I don’t even understand why I fell in love with you in the first place when you never even showed me an iota of respect like you do with Yugi! WHAT THE HELL DOES HE GOT THAT I DON’T?!” _

Kaiba looked around him and sighed, grabbing Joey’s arm and dragging him out so the two can talk privately. Joey, while still pissed and easily could get out of Kaiba’s grip, went along with it.

Jaden just watched the spirits head out. This was something personal between them and it was better to leave them alone to settle things.

“Jaden,” said Reiji, approaching the Elemental Hero duelist, Reira close by as always.

“Um…Hi, who are you?” Jaden asked.

“I’m Reiji Akaba, the president of Leo Corp. and of this school,” Reiji explained, adjusting his glasses. “I have a computer that monitors the duels around the city and throughout your duel with Mazumi, your smallest fusion has created the strongest surge of Fusion energy we have ever seen. 

“Huh?!”

“That much energy?”

“Even stronger than people from Academia?!”

“Yes…” Reiji nodded. “and you do seem like you know what you’re talking about, and you are quite knowledgeable of the true dueling world.”

“Well I mean...not  _ that  _ knowledgeable,” Jaden said, rubbing the back of his head. “Most of what I said was common knowledge back then.” 

“Regardless I do have a favor to ask.”

“Really? Like what?” Jaden said tilting his head. 

“Jaden...I wish that you would duel me right now.”

There was a pause as everyone stared at Jaden’s shocked expression.

“You wanna duel me? Really?” Jaden asked.

“Yes,” Reiji answered. “I wish to see for myself how strong you truly are. You didn’t have any trouble against Masumi and she is one of the top fusion users in my school. I wish to see more of your dueling skills.’”

“So, just to be sure, another friendly duel right? No stakes?”

“Except for data I wish to analyze, no stakes,” Reiji clarified.

“Sweet!”

“Although...You do seem to mix those Neo-Spacians with the Elemental Heroes of yours. I’m guessing you took it easy on Masumi, so I wish you to duel me, with your strongest cards.” 

“Took it easy?” Masumi gasped, feeling offended.

“My strongest?” Jaden said. eyes wide.

_ “Shit…”  _ Atem whispered.

_ “He doesn’t stand a chance does he?”  _ Yugi asked with a concerned frown. 

_ “Against them...no.”  _ Jesse said, shaking his head.

The atmosphere changed, and everyone could feel it. A shiver fell down their spines as they wondered how this all came about.

“My most powerful cards...can be dangerous... _ I _ could be dangerous if I used them,” Jaden warned, voice stern. 

Reiji took the information in. “Regardless, I do wish to duel you at your strongest. You are powerful, I can see that. You contain some sort of power that I do not yet understand or know, I wish to face it, to see if I am ready. Please.”

Jaden looked at Reiji’s eyes, and sighed. “Alright,” he said with a nod. 

Reira gasped, seeing the dark aura surrounding Jaden. “W-wait no, big brother,” she stammered out, grasping onto his hand.

“Don’t worry,” Jaden said, making Reira look up at him. He still had a warm smile on his face. “I promise not to hurt your brother.” 

Reira looked deep into Jaden’s eyes, face still full of concern before she let go of Reiji with a soft “Okay,” and a nod, her hat hiding her face as she looked down. 

Jaden sighed and took a few cards out of his deck before putting the rest of the deck back into the pocket of his jacket before producing another deck, placing the cards on it and shuffling them. 

“Alright Reiji,” Jaden said. but he didn’t have the same enthusiasm he used to. His entire demeanor changed. “We both get 8000 Life points again if you want any useful data,” Jaden said.

Yoko narrowed her eyes. Is it gonna be like Sora again? Would this boy destroy everything around him and cackle about destroying everyone without concern or concern about the damage he’d done? 

Reiji nodded, agreeing easily, and stood across from Jaden, both of them shouting. “Lets duel!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Phantom Queen, she would like to say that she very much loved writing Jaden as well, that the Gem Knights quacking in their pants was hilarious as hell, and that she disliked Kaiba going to the Afterlife without a contingency plan for Mokuba. I.E she's the one who started that rant from Joey. And in case you're asking, no, I didn't take Kaiba, and she took Joey, we both wrote lines to all the characters. 
> 
> We hope you had fun! Look Forwards for part 4!


	20. Chapter 9 (Part 4): Dark Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaden duels off against Reiji Akaba as the last day before the expedition to Synchro ends.
> 
> (And the authors get a well-deserved break)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GPQ: And here is the final part of chapter 9, which took a while for many reasons and here's the jist of what you need to know.
> 
> 1) I was worried about whether I worfed Reiji or not (You'll see why) because I did lots of research on Reiji's cards and, let's just say he has nothing to save his monsters from being destroyed by a nuke.
> 
> 2) Shingo is my LEAST favorite Lancer. I hate him so so much; I literally have to pause an episode and tell him to shut up because he just doesn't realize that he's a terrible duelist. To explain how bad this is, both Azure and I originally planned the Lancers to chew him out and leave him behind; and this went on for FOUR PAGES.
> 
> Edit from Azure: what I'm most mad about is that it took a lot out of our writing. GPQ thought it wasnt a good send of to his character and it wasn't. At some point I didn't care because it would legit have been an easier time without him as well are jugiling a lot of characters already. but we eventually decided to just remove the part entirely (I still saved the pages in a different doc) 
> 
> 3) Azure and I need a BREAK from this story. With just one more chapter to go before we can work on Season 2 (aka the season that dragged on too long), and studies, we need to rest up before working on this very long "probably will take us a year to complete" season.
> 
> 4) I've neglected one of my stories for the past SIX MONTHS and need to get something updated and fast. So this is a perfect time to work on it.
> 
> 5) Thank you for your support, comments, kudos and bookmarks. If you'd like, please share this story to your friends or show off some fanart (or three) that you like. We'd really appreciate it.
> 
> So thank you once again, and we'll see you in a few months. (Edit from Azure: Probably not months but a few weeks for the sake of our grades and sanity.)

“All right, what the hell is this all about?” Joey grumbled as Seto dragged him to an empty hallway. Even though the two were spirits, and thus no one could hear them, it was still a force of habit.

“Listen, Joey,” Seto said. “I -- “

“I honestly can’t decide what to feel about ya right now,” Joey interrupted. “Like you’re just _ so _ obsessed with Atem just because he beat you yet here I am trying to get your attention and I always feel like second best! And Atem is goddamn more important than your company and your little brother, right?! Ya always have ta prove that you’re the best huh? 

Seto looked down and sighed. “I’m...I’m sorry, Puppy.”

Joey groaned, his cheeks went a little red and he looked away for a bit. “Sorry ain’t gonna do ya good right now, Seto--”

“I knew Mokuba is more than capable of running the company. He’s a bright kid, able to take charge when need be. He’d be okay…”

“For how long? How long did we have to wait until you finally came out of the blue as if you didn’t realize like _ a few years _ passed in what you thought was like a day or two down there?!”

“He had bodyguards, and I knew if he really did need help you were there. After all, even when I didn’t ask for your help you guys were always there. Mokuba doesn’t have the same pride I have, he would have asked for help if he needed it. I did trust him to know what to do.”

“It could’ve been nice if you told _ me _ about it too! Téa was gone, Tristan was working with his dad, Bakura was finally getting some therapy, Duke had his game shop to run and Yugi was trying to move on like you should’ve done a long time ago! So all that was left was me, working my ass off to get a new Duel Disk and my dreams put on hold for _ your selfish wish _!”

Seto sighed again, looking guilty. “I know Puppy, and I’m sorry. My excitement, my ambition blinded me. Just one more duel and…”

“And what if that _ one more duel _ wasn’t enough? It would never be enough, would it? Are you actually sorry or do you just not want me to be angry? Are you changed now or would you have gone back again and again? I mean, Atem’s here and you can duel him any time you want! Why not do it now, Moneybags? What’s stopping ya?”

“...”

“Oh? The great Seto Kaiba has nothing to say at long last? Figures.” Joey began walking away. “Not so high and mighty now, are ya? I swear you’re like an Ice Prince, emotionless and cold with a heart frozen to a degree of negative a _ million _ Celsius or something! I mean what’s it gonna take to actually melt that block of ice in that chest of yours, huh?”

Just before Joey could take another step, he was blocked by Seto somehow in front of him. Joey scowled and tried to walk around the former CEO, but paused when he noticed something in Seto’s eyes.

Tears. Moreover, Seto was shaking a bit. 

“...I’m sorry,” Seto said, voice so sad and broken. “I know I get obsessed about things to the point of not caring about anything else, but I wouldn’t have left Mokuba if I wasn’t sure he would have been okay. I know I act cold and detached, but it’s very hard for me to open up. I trust you and your friends, which is more than I can say about anyone else I didn’t personally hire.”

“...They’re your friends too, ya know,” Joey said softly. 

“It is...hard to think of them as such. Only you and Atem and Yugi, do I feel any closeness to. I just wanted...I keep wanting to prove that I am the best. I beat Gozaboro, and all the people that thought they could take advantage of me just because I was so young. I needed to win, to prove that I am the best, and yet over and over I lost. I kept losing, never once did I win, and then Atem was gone, and I had no other chances.”

“You beat that asshole of a father; you didn’t have to worry about that anymore.” Joey leaned forward, forehead pressed against Seto’s own. “Just...why can’t you just be happy with me? Am I not good enough?”

Seto placed his hands over Joey’s biceps, as if to keep Joey rooted where he was. “I do...you are. It’s just...It was hard even _ knowing _I had feelings for you. I wanted to tell you, but my pride got in the way. I only wanted to reclaim what was rightfully mine, wanted to not get involved in magic and miracles and all this. But I saw you, your determination, your skill, your desire to save others. Even when I didn’t want you, you still tried to reach out towards me.

“And it was only when I lost to Atem in the afterlife that I realized what and who I truly wanted. I wanted you, I _ always _ wanted you. I promise, I’ll never leave again, you mean so much to me, Joey, puppy...Please don’t go…”

The way Seto whispered that last phrase stabbed Joey in the gut. Joey looked into Kaiba’s eyes before leaning forwards and placing a soft kiss on Seto’s lips. The taller brunette’s shoulders relaxed as he closed his eyes and kissed Joey back. 

“Stay with me, always, forever_ .” _ Seto wished. “I love you, I love you, _ I love you… _ I know that I can be… thoughtless and cold, but I promise that I really want you. But please don’t leave...please don’t…” 

“I won’t,” Joey replied. “But you gotta promise me the same. I don’t wanna be thinking of you going out and recklessly chasing after rainbows or something.”

Seto snorted but Joey could see that smile on his face clear as day. “I promise.”

Joey smiled and gave Seto a peck on the nose. Seto replied with a deeper kiss than before on the lips, before the lovebirds rested their foreheads together again. 

“We should head back soon,” Joey remarked. “I don’t think we wanna miss Jaden kicking someone else’s ass, do we?”

Seto smirked and chuckled softly before nodding as the two headed back to watch the duel, his hand over Joey’s in a firm but gentle grip.

******************

**Jaden: 8000**

**Reiji: 8000**

The audience was tense at seeing Reiji and Jaden stare at one another. They all knew that Reiji was the strongest duelist in this dimension, mastering all three styles of summoning, having won the Arc League Championship three years in a row and there was no one who could come close to his skills.

Yet when they looked at Jaden, they noticed that he was neither scared nor excited to fight. He stood there like his reflection in Masumi’s duel, only without the golden eyes.

Masumi shivered. She absolutely wasn’t seeing things in her duel. Something was wrong with Jaden...

“I’ll take the first move,” said Reiji, drawing a card. “And I start by playing two Dark Contracts with the Gate Spell Cards.”

He played two cards into his Duel Disk. They depicted a scroll with a glowing blue aura in front of a rocky cliffside where a black demonic gate was waiting to be opened.

“Dark Contract with the Gate allows me to take a Level 4 or lower ‘D/D’ monster from my deck to my hand, but in exchange I will lose 1000 lifepoints on my next Standby Phase,” Reiji explained. “And I’ll use both of them to take D/D Cerberus and D/D Lilith to my hands.”

“That’s not good,” said Gongenzaka, as Reiji took two cards into his hand. “Reiji is probably going to summon his Extra Deck monsters to overwhelm Jaden.”

“I don’t think Jaden cares at this point,” Yuya pointed out. “He doesn’t seem scared at all.”

“Next I play Dark Contract with the Swamp King. For the cost of another 1000 lifepoints on my Standby Phase, this will allow me to Fusion Summon the D/D monsters in my hand. So I’ll fuse D/D Cerberus and D/D Lilith together!”

Reiji played another Dark Contract card, showing a dark forest where a King of the Swamp was shown devouring a headstone. Then, two of Reiji’s monsters -- one being a bipedal dog with no front legs with midnight fur, three heads with red markings over the ears and eyes and bronze collars while the other one was a feminine serpentine figure with a teal green tail, pink armor and a large pink wing on her left shoulder -- were sucked into the Spell Card as fire erupted and surrounded the CEO.

_ "Hellhound that bares its fangs, vamp of the dark night! In a whirlpool of light from the realm of the dead, become one and give birth to a new king. Fusion Summon! Be born! D/D/D Flame King Genghis!” _

Emerging from the flames was the D/D/D fusion in dark brown armor, wielding a long red sword in his right hand and a rectangular shield on his left hand. He looked up at Jaden and narrowed his eyes, ready to protect his master. (2000 ATK)

_ He really doesn’t know what he’s facing, _Jesse remarked.

_ How bad are these Evil Heroes of his? _Joey asked, having arrived just in time to see the duel beginning. 

_ They’re ruthless and vicious. _ Jesse explained. _ They enjoy destruction and putting fear into others’ hearts. They’re more powerful than Jaden’s Elemental Heroes, tainted by the Darkness and transformed into something corrupted and wicked. They are Haou’s loyal soldiers _

“I end my turn by placing two cards face-down,” said Reiji, slipping two cards into his Duel Disk. “And that’s all for me.”

“Something’s up,” said Yuzu. “Unless Reiji does something, he’s losing half of his lifepoints from the effects of his Dark Contracts alone.”

“Knowing him, he’ll have something to protect him,” Yuya noted.

“My turn, draw,” Jaden stated coldly, drawing his card. He then revealed two new cards tot he audience. And I start by setting the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Evil Hero Lady Frost and Scale 10 Evil Hero Nightshroud!”

“What?!”

“He’s got Pendulums?!”

Jaden placed his Pendulum Cards on the sides of his Duel Disk as the word ‘PENDULUM’ appeared in bright colors. Then, rising behind him were the two Evil Hero Pendulums. On Jaden’s left appeared a woman in white and blue with cold hazel eyes and on the right was a brown haired man with a black mask over his eyes styled like that of a dragon, a red jewel imbedded between the mask’s blue glass eyes, and he wore black pants and shirt, and a black overcoat that reached his ankles. Underneath Lady Frost’s feet was a large ‘1’ while Nightshroud had a ‘10’.

“How did some Academia kid get their hands on _ Pendulums _?!” Shingo asked, practically mirroring everyone else’s thoughts right now. 

Jaden turned to Shingo and shrugged. “I have my ways, I won’t divulge my sources.”

** _Would you happen to know said sources? _ **Ray asked, turning to Zarc.

** _Let’s just say the two of us have a deal._ ** Zarc replied. ** _I do say that he catches on pretty quick._ **

“These two...they look kinda familiar somehow,” Serena said with a frown of confusion.

“What do you mean?” asked Yuzu. “Wait, are you saying they’re supernatural beings or something?”

“No...but I think I’ve seen them before…. “

_ Well... _ Lady Frost said, turning to Nightshroud. _ Not the best way to debut, but I guess this will suffice. _

_ Oh come on sis. A show is a show. _ Nightshroud said with a grin. _ I think it’s a great debut with a lovely audience who’s surprised to see us! I can’t wait to see how they react to everyone _else.

“Oh god those two are talking?!” Masumi questioned. 

“They’re apparently _ Evil _ Heroes, but they’re quite friendly,” Yoko said. 

“Apparently they’re new, maybe that’s why,” Yuya said.

“What do you mean by ‘new’?”

“Well they are Pendulum Monsters, and they just said this is their debut so it’s kinda obvious they’re pretty new.”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re evil, Yuya,” Yoko remarked.

Yuya shrugged. “I don’t know them, I can’t make a judgment over them. But from what I heard they’re loyal to their king. The Evil Heroes will follow any order and will do it without mercy. They relish in striking fear into the hearts of their enemies and even the mightiest warriors cower at the mentioning of their names.”

“Now I use Lady Frost’s ability, once per turn I can send the top two cards in my deck to the graveyard and choose one Normal Fusion card and add it to my hand from my deck or my graveyard,” said Jaden. “And the card I choose is simple...I choose Dark Fusion.”

_ Did he just say “Dark Fusion”?” _Atem asked.

_ Oh, yeah. _ Jesse said with a smirk. _ I know how this will end. _

Lady Frost crossed her hands over her heart and opened her eyes. They were dull, empty and she looked like she was possessed. Jaden nodded his head as he sent two cards from his deck to the graveyard and swiped another card from said deck to his hand.

“He set the Pendulum Scale but he’s not Pendulum Summoning?” Yoko questioned.

“I did the same thing,” Serena pointed out. “Most Fusion based monsters don’t require to be on the field in order to Fusion Summon them. Unless it strictly said that the monsters need to be on the field, there is no actual need to Pendulum Summon at all, and instead use the effects of the cards.” 

“Next,” Jaden continued. “I play the Field Spell Supreme King Castle!” 

_ Oh, that can’t be good, _Mokuba remarked. 

_ Nope, this duel is gonna end quickly. _Yugi said. 

The minute Jaden placed the Field Spell into his Duel Disk, the central court transformed into something out of a Gothic Horror film, as everyone now stood in a world that seemed in a perpetual everlasting night, with a comet flying in the sky, a dark sinister looking castle carved from a mountain of obsidian in jagged edges looming in the back. The two duelists stood across from each other on a stone bridge where a moat of _ lava _ bubbled underneath.

“This is…” Reiji said, a bead of sweat falling down his face, eyes wide with a small look of fear. Reira shivered and hid behind Yuya. Not even Winged Kuriboh could calm her down.

“I thought you said students from Slifer Red were the weakest, but he wiped the floor with Masumi and he isn’t using his actual strong cards,” Shingo pointed out to Serena. “Are all Slifers this strong?”

“No way. Hell I don’t even think Obelisk Blue Students can stand against this guy,” Serena answered a little scared. “He might have been wearing the red jacket to mock the school, because no way…there’s _ no freaking way _ someone this strong was in Slifer Red.” 

The other students of LDS filled in as the audience shivered. They thought they could hear voices chant, “He is the power, he is the power” over and over again like a heartbeat magnified by the Solid Vision’s sound systems. Thank goodness Nico Smiley wasn’t here to commentate about it.

“This,” Jaden said, addressing his audience in a calm voice, they could hear an echo in it, filled with power but devoid of the warmth and excitement he had in his Action Duel. “Is my domain. Welcome to the Dark World. Here, I am the Supreme King of Darkness and my subjects are swift to attack _ anyone _ who gets in my way. ” 

“Supreme King of Darkness?” Reiji whispered looking around, an entire world that looks like this and this kid was its ruler?!

_ So is this what he really is like? Or is this the lie? _Yoko asked, looking at the person standing before them. His stance, his expression, his voice. This was completely different from the boy who dueled Masumi, as if he was someone else entirely, and it scared her. 

“One of the effects of this Field Spell allows me to Fusion Summon my monsters with any suitable fusion card.” Jaden said. “Basically ‘Polymerization’ becomes ‘Dark Fusion’, which is the only way to summon my monsters.” 

“I, the man, Gongenzaka, do not like the looks of this,” Gongenzaka muttered.

“This is gonna be so cool!” Yugo cheered.

“Now I play Dark Fusion and fuse Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix together!” Jaden proclaimed.

_ The same fusion as before? _ Reiji thought, seeing the Spell Card of Avian and Burstinatrix about to encounter a dark shadowy being, as if they were making a pact with a demon. _ No wait… he’s using Dark Fusion, which means whatever comes next _ won’t _ be Flame Wingman, but something else. _

_ “Be careful.” _A voice whispered in Reiji’s head, causing the CEO to look in surprise. 

_ “Who?” _ Reiji asked before looking at his own monster. _ Genghis?: _

_ “I feel it in my bones.” _ Flame King Genghis said with a shudder. _ “He’s summoning _ her...her _ of all Evil Heroes…” _

_ “Her?” _

_ “The most vicious of all her kind, the woman made from infernal fire. She is the opposite of the Hero of righteous flames, and unlike him, she shows no mercy...” _

Reiji looked up to see the images of Avian and Burstinatrix in front of him, covered in dark auras. Jaden nodded his head as the two fused together, darkness filling the fusion portal. Blue flames descended onto Jaden, his eyes gold and he extended his hand as he began his chant. But unlike how Jaden sounded excited and energetic to bring forth his Fusions, this one was more in line of how _ Reiji _ sounded: summoning a monster from the depths of the Netherworld to eliminate the enemy, cold and uncaring, ready to win.

_ “Infernal Fire born from darkness and filled with hate, spread your flames and burn all that stands before you into ash! Rise and serve your King! Dark Fusion Summon! Evil Hero Inferno Wing!” _

Then, descending from the portal was her, the most vicious of the Evil Heroes. She was a sinister looking monster with a sharp smirk and an amused look on her face (well as much as it could be seen as her eyes were covered by a dark blue visor), spreading her arms out. She wore a red dress that exposed her navel and the skirt flared out in the back, while the fabric that covered her legs hugged her olive-green skin. She flexed her large claws and her black feathery wings unfurled all while she ran a clawed hand through her rather spiky hair. (2100 ATK)

“What?!” Masumi gasped. “He used the monsters to Fusion Summon Flame Wingman for _ that? _!”

“What...even is that Monster?” Serena asked, eyes wide with fear. 

The Evil Hero flew down to hover beside Jaden, ruby red lips smirking. She looked up at the crowd, eyes locked onto Masumi’s terrified magenta ones. Masumi squeaked, and she rarely _ ever _ squeaked.

_ “So…she’s the one whom those Elemental Heroes had to fight?” _Inferno Wing asked, amused.

Masumi gulped, doing her best not to hide behind Yaiba. Was this the same fear her monsters had upon seeing the _ normal _Elemental Heroes? The ones who just simply said hello and Jaden treated as old friends?

“Correct,” Jaden answered. 

Inferno Wing smirked, her visor obscuring her eyes not letting anyone know who she was looking at specifically. But she radiated darkness and power all the same. _ “Shame…” _ she said. _ “This girl shattered so easily like brittle glass. If she doesn’t stand a chance against _ them _ , there’s no way she would survive five turns with us.” _

“I don’t think she’d even last _ three _ turns with you,” Jaden remarked.

Inferno Wing chuckled before she turned to Reiji, looking him up and down and Flame King Genghis did his best to show no fear. _ “So this is the one you are dueling, my King?” _ She questioned.

A lot of the audience started to whisper under their breaths in worry. This monster was _ nothing _ like the kind heroic Elemental Heroes speaking casually to the very frightened and panicking Gem-Knights (or even Lapis Lazuli smiling and giggling in the midst of the duel or how Master Diamond seemed like he was meeting up with an old friend) or the six Dragon Vassals having front row seats to the action (even though no one can actually see them).

“Yes,” Jaden answered. “He wants to duel me to see what I’m capable of, and told me to go out in full force.”

_ “How amusing, Haou-sama.” _ Inferno Wing chuckled. “ _ It’s been awhile since I had a chance to play. After he’s done, I bet I could take any single one of these duelists down before they even had a chance to play Polymerization or Tune or Build the ‘Overlay Network’.” _

“‘Haou-sama’? What does that mean?” Gongenzaka asked. 

“It’s a name given to the Supreme Kings of Darkness, it symbolizes their status,” Yuya explained.

“How do you know so much about that, Yuya?” Gongenzaka whispered, staring at his friend with wide eyes.

_ Ya know, the Evil Heroes might set well with Seto; they seem to have the same ego. _Joey commented, and the CEO rolled his eyes.

“I've never heard of these cards before. What's the story behind these...Evil Heroes?” Reiji asked. 

“My Evil Heroes are a Dark filled version of my old Elemental Heroes. Made from Dark Fusion they become something else, more powerful, sinister and deadly,” Jaden explained. “They transformed as I transformed, their loyalty and power belonging to me.” 

“And they live in this castle of the Supreme King?” Reiji asked. 

“Yes, my castle.” 

“How does a kid like him own a castle?” Masumi asked

“_ Haou-sama is one of the Kings of Darkness,” _ Infernal Wing explained. _ “He rules over us spirits and other dimensions such as the Dark World. He might look like a normal child but he is the best of us, our leader and king.” _

Everyone in the audience except Yuya and Yugo shivered. They knew from Father’s stories just how powerful the Supreme King can be.

"There's nothing to worry about," said Jaden. "I am your ally. I only came to this dimension to claim what is mine. I know there is a war on the horizon too, but remember that there is a time to relax and a time to be serious.

"Reiji Akaba, you asked for my best and I will give it to you. But remember that I warned you about my strength."

Masumi swallowed. “Reiji better win or at least get a good attack in,” she whispered, frozen in place. She was _ that close _ to fighting off this version of Jaden. If she couldn’t beat the one with the basic Elemental Heroes and Neos, there was no way she’d survive against the Jaden who used _ Evil _Heroes. 

“Come on, it’s Reiji,” Shingo said, hiding the bead of sweat that was falling down his forehead. "This kid might be strong, but Reiji mastered all summoning methods out there; there’s no way he’d lose to someone who only uses Fusion.” 

But Masumi could tell that Shingo was just saying that in the hopes that Reiji could win. All around them, the audience could feel the intense power radiating off of Jaden, and it scared everyone half to death. Thankfully the chanting had dropped into a murmur.

“How did we go from a cute Kuriboh with wings to Supreme King of Darkness?” Yaiba asked.

Jaden grunted before he pointed at Reiji’s monster. “Now then, Infernal Wing. Attack Flame King Genghis with Infernal Blast!”

_ “With pleasure.” _Inferno Wing said, summoning a large red and orange fireball in her clawed hands.

“Not so fast, Jaden,” said Reiji. “I activate my face-down card Dark Contract with the Witch! This increases the attack power of my Flame King Genghis by 1000 this turn!”

One of his face-down cards flipped over, a Trap Card revealing script on a beautiful white feather, the background some sort of theater or amphitheater as five Dark Witch monsters flew into the sky. Flame King Genghis readied himself, confident that the contract would save him from Inferno Wing’s sadism. (2000 -) 3000 ATK)

But Jaden didn’t look too surprised. Unlike the boy who was looking in awe at Masumi’s counter-attacks, this Jaden just chuckled. “Nice move, but it won’t be enough,” he said. “I activate the effect of Supreme King Castle! When my Evil Hero goes into battle, I can send an ‘Evil Hero’ from my deck or Extra Deck to the graveyard. And then, the Evil Hero in battle will gain 200 attack points for each level of the sacrificed monster. So I’m offering my Level 6 Evil Hero Infernal Sniper to give Infernal Wing 1200 Attack Points!”

Inferno Wing cackled as a black burst of flame surrounded her. (2100 -) 3300 ATK) The fireball in her hand expanded, becoming twice its size before she hurled it at Reiji’s lone monster, incinerating him.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Reiji: 7700**

“Big deal,” Shingo said. “Reiji just got a tiny scratch of damage.”

“Oh I’m not done,” Jaden said, as if he could hear Shingo’s comments. “Now that Infernal Wing destroyed a monster, she can inflict additional damage based on what was stronger: the destroyed monster’s attack points or defense points. And since Reiji used Contract with the Witch to specifically increase Flame King Genghis's attack…”

“Then that means Reiji is getting 3000 points of damage point-blank!” Yoko finished.

“Show him, Infernal Wing! _ Hell Backfire _!”

Inferno Wing smirked as another fireball formed in her claws. She launched it like a cannonball, coating Reiji in flames, and smirked as Reiji’s lifepoints dropped even lower.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Reiji: 4700**

“This is bad,” said Yaiba. “Come Reiji’s next turn, he’s gonna lose 4000 lifepoints unless he does something!”

“Not bad,” said Reiji. If he could, he’d give two claps for Inferno Wing’s attack. Instead, all he could do was just focus on not showing how terrified he was “But this is why I come prepared. I activate my face-down card, Contract Laundering!”

His face-down card lifted, revealing a king tossing contracts -- the Dark Contracts in particular -- into a fire.

“This card destroys all ‘Dark Contracts’ I control, but in exchange I get to draw 1 card and increase my lifepoints by 1000 for each Dark Contract offered. Since I control four Contracts, that’s four more cards and four thousand more lifepoints.”

Reiji’s Dark Contracts were sucked into Contract Laundering as he drew four new cards. Meanwhile, his lifepoints rose as if Jaden’s attack meant nothing.

**Jaden: 8000**

**Reiji: 8700**

“Not bad,” said Jaden. “But I’m not done yet. I activate the Pendulum ability of Evil Hero Nightshroud! He can return one ‘Evil Hero’ in my graveyard from my deck or Extra Deck. However, I am not allowed to initiate my Draw Phase on my next turn.”

“You won’t have a next turn,” said Reiji as he saw Nightshroud’s mask covered in black and red flames as a card emerged from Jaden’s deck..

We’ll just see about that, won’t we? I’ll end it by placing this one card face-down.”

“My turn, I draw,” Reiji said looking at his hand, before choosing his next steps. He had to show he wasn’t afraid, and that he was capable of taking on everything Jaden could throw at him. “First I play Re-Fusion and pay 800 lifepoints to resurrect D/D/D Flame King Genghis!”

Playing a Spell Card of two monsters, one yellow and purple in a purple background, Reiji watched as Flame King Genghis rose again, sword ready. (2000 ATK)

**Jaden: 8000**

**Reiji: 7900**

“Next I summon D/D Nightowl onto the field in Attack Mode!”

The monster that appeared wasn’t an owl...rather it looked like a strange monstrous head with a huge set of jaws ready to bite Jaden’s arm off. (300 ATK)

“When D/D Nightowl is summoned on the field, I can resurrect a D/D monster in my graveyard but with its attack and defense dropped to 0. So come back D/D Lillith!”

Lilith rose next to Nightowl, frowning and crossing her arms over her chest. (100/2100 -) 0/0)

“And now Jaden, let me blow you away as I tune my Level 3 D/D Nightowl and Level 4 D/D Lillith together!”

Nightowl transformed into three green rings while Lilith sighed and turned into four white shining stars. Jaden narrowed his eyes; he knew what this meant.

**(*4 + *3 = * 7)**

_ "Howls that tear through the night. Gain the swiftness of a gale and become the cries of a newborn king! Synchro Summon! Be born! Level 7! D/D/D Gust King Alexander!” _

From wisps of wind, a silver armored warrior with a pointed helmet emerged with several cyan bolts over its body. He wielded a long bladed sword with a curve and wore a green cape that blew in the wind. (2500 ATK)

“Interesting…” Jaden muttered.

“I activate the effect of D/D/D Flame King Genghis!” said Reiji. “Now I can bring back a ‘D/D’ monster in my graveyard."

Flame King Genghis clashed his sword and shield together, creating a eruption of flames on his right. D/D Lilith returned and she was still sour as ever. (100 ATK)

And when a ‘D/D’ monster is Special Summoned while D/D/D Gust King Alexander on the field, I can resurrect another ‘D/D’ monster in my graveyard. And that monster is D/D Cerberus!”

With a trio of howls, D/D Cerberus emerged, snarling and barking at Inferno Wing. (1800 ATK)

“Both of those monsters are Level 4…” said Yugo. “Wait, that means!”

“I now build the Overlay Network!”

The Overlay Network materialized in front of Reiji as the two ‘D/D’ monsters entered it. A blue light washed over the field as Reiji prepared himself against this strange Fusion duelist.

_ "In order to subjugate all that resides in this world, now, descend onto the peak of the world! Xyz Summon! Be born! Rank 4! D/D/D Wave King Caesar!" _

Rising from that Overlay Network was a purple fiend with a white collar and spikes on his back. In his hands was a rather large blade that could cleave a house in half. (2400 ATK)

“He’s got his best monsters on the field already,” said Masumi. “Reiji’s not playing around.”

“Next, I play the Spell Card Deceitful Contract with the War Deity!”

Reiji played his next Spell Card, showing a contract signed in red ink (or was that blood?) next to a large talon covered in a red aura.

“I select one ‘D/D/D’ monster and it will gain 1000 attack points in battle, while a monster you control loses the exact same amount. I choose D/D/D Gust King Alexander to battle your Inferno Wing!”

Gust King Alexander raised his sword in the air as a red aura empowered him. Inferno Wing frowned as her attack stats decreased. (Gust King Alexander: 2500 -) 3500 ATK, Inferno Wing: 2100 -) 1100 ATK)

_ How unfair. _Inferno Wing muttered.

“Go, D/D/D Gust King Alexander! Destroy Evil Hero Inferno Wing!”

Gust King Alexander lifted his sword into the air before bringing it down, a blue energy wave flying towards the Evil Hero.

“Not so fast,” said Jaden. “I activate the effect of Supreme King Castle! And I send my Level 4 Evil Hero Adjusted Gold to the graveyard to give Inferno Wing a boost.”

A dark golden figure appeared over Inferno Wing before erupting into a black aura that slightly strengthened her. (1100 -) 1900 ATK) 

“That won’t help you!” Reji replied. “You’re delaying the inevitable.

Gust King Alexander’s attack struck Inferno Wing. But just before Inferno Wing shattered, she just gave a wicked grin to Reiji’s monsters.

**Jaden: 6600**

**Reiji: 7900**

“Now Flame King Genghis and Wave King Caesar, attack Jaden directly!”

Flame King Genghis and Wave King Caesar hesitated, seeing Jaden’s golden glare staring back at them. But they obliged and charged towards the opponent, their swords striking Jaden down without regret. But despite the drop in lifepoints, Jaden didn’t seem to look like he was in pain at all.

**Jaden: 2000**

**Reiji: 7900**

“Not bad,” said Jaden, dusting his sleeves. Even though he had taken so much damage, he wasn’t scared at all.

“Wait, if he wanted to be attacked like that, what did he play face-down?!” asked Serena.

“Something’s up,” Yoko said, hand on her chin in thought.

“What do you mean?” Masumi asked.

“Well think of it. He just lost _ 6000 _lifepoints but he doesn’t seem at all affected or even worried that Reiji has three monsters made with three summoning methods. Jaden’s best monster has been destroyed easily, and Reiji still has three monsters on the field.”

“So what do you think is going on, Yoko-san?” Yuzu asked. 

Yoko sighed, looking at the dark castle and the Pendulum monsters flanking it. “First of all, there’s Supreme King’s Castle’s effect, meaning if Jaden sent any monster with a high enough level, he would have been able to counter Reiji. There’s no way someone who uses Fusion would have only two or three Fusion monsters. Masumi can tell you from experience.”

“Second he sent a low level monster,” said Yugo, amused. “Meaning he intended for his monsters to get destroyed and to lose as many lifepoints as possible but not outright lose.” 

“But why would he want to lose that many lifepoints?” asked Gongenzaka. “If that face-down card was Self-Destruct Button then he needed to lose a few _ more _ lifepoints to make the difference between him and Reiji at 7000.”

“Because he’s not trying to end it in a draw, Gongenzaka,” Yoko answered. “I think that card of his only works if he loses a lot of lifepoints. But what could possibly be so important that he lost 75% of his lifepoints?”

“I activate my face-down card, Shock Draw!” Jaden said, revealing a Trap Card depicting a duelist with three cards in his hand struck down by lightning. “Now for every 1000 points of damage I took this turn, I’m allowed to draw a card. So with exactly _ 6000 _points of damage taken, I can draw six cards.”

“WHAT?!” Numerous people in the audience shouted, shocked to find such a powerful card in play.

“He wanted a new hand,” Yuya said.

“And he sacrificed nearly all of his life points for it,” Serena finished. “But why?”

“I think...I actually think he’s messing with Reiji,” Yuya said.

“What?!” Everyone beside Yugo yelled in shock.

“It’s true, think about Inferno Wing’s ability. If he just sends enough high level monsters, not only would he make Reiji lose the duel by the differences in attack points, but by burning Reiji’s life points through her ability. He’s just showing off.” Yugo explained.

“Showing off?!” Yaiba exclaimed. “How is _ that _the definition of showing off?!”

“He has more powerful monsters up his sleeves. He’s basically giving Reiji the taunt of, ‘If I wanted to, you would have been dead by one monster, but I’m going to show you what I can actually do.’ After all, if one monster is enough to destroy someone, why would you go out of your way to let it be destroyed and get something else? Simple, because you just wanna show how much better and stronger you are, it’s to show Reiji how out powered he really is against Haou-sama.”

_ When did Yugo become so observant? _Yoko questioned, trying to recall the difference between this Yugo and the one who zipped to a duel against Raphael under the misguided belief that he “kidnapped” her.

_ Kid’s right. _ Jesse said, _ Worse yet, had Jaden gone full Haou mode, you wouldn’t even see that much amusement on his face. He would have finished this with Inferno Wing, but it’s still Jaden there. He’s giving Reiji a chance but, I actually think the duel is already over. _

“But it’s only been three turns and Reiji has three monsters and several cards in his hand!” Masumi said to Yuya and Yugo, panicking. “He can win this...he _ has to win this! _”

“Calm down, Masumi,” said Yaiba. “I mean, it’s not like those monsters are actually going to attack us. It’s just a duel.”

“This is not a duel, this is a horror show!” Masumi shrieked. “Now I understand why my monsters were so frightened. This is no duelist...this is a _ demon _in disguise!”

_ Jaden does love playing along. Reiji wanted to see what Jaden can do, Jaden is giving him a taste. _Jesse chuckled.

“I have to end my turn there,” said Reiji, looking at the cards in his hand.

“Wait WHAT?!” Shingo shouted. “Reiji, you have four cards in your hand and you’re not doing _ anything _?! You could easily beat this punk and his creepy monsters!”

“I don’t _ have _ anything I can use to stop him,” Reiji replied. “And remember that even _ if _ I did, I still have to pay lifepoints to use my contracts. What’s to say that Jaden doesn’t have anything to stop me?”

“My turn,” said Jaden. “Due to the effect of Evil Hero Nightshroud, I can’t draw this turn...but I won’t need to.” He grinned and that grin was more unsettling than his golden eyes. “I have _ everything _I need to finish this.”

“He’s bluffing,” Shingo said. “There...there’s no way this ‘Slifer slacker’ can beat Reiji...right?”

“I guess we’ll have to watch and see,” Yuya said, patting Reira’s head. Reira shivered in her seat. Not even Winged Kuriboh nuzzling her could calm her down. In fact, Winged Kuriboh was covering his eyes with his wings!

“I start by banishing Evil Hero Sinister Necrom from my graveyard,” said Jaden.

“Wait, when did that card go to the graveyard?” asked Gongenzaka,. “The only Evil Heroes he sent there were Infernal Sniper -- which was sent back to the Extra Deck -- and Adjusted Gold.”

“He did send it to the graveyard,” Yuzu gasped. “When he used the effect of Evil Hero Lady Frost to take Dark Fusion to his hand!”

“Correct,” Jaden chuckled. “When Sinister Necrom is banished, I can Special Summon an Evil Hero from my deck or Extra Deck. And the monster I choose is Evil Hero Malicious Edge!”

Sinster Necrom’s spirit -- a red skinned fiend with armor like skeleton bones and large shoulders -- briefly appeared before nodding his head at Jaden. Then, rising from the graveyard was the new Evil Hero. And just like its namesake, it was edgy. It had cerulean skin and its own attire consisted of leather studded traps for a top, along with similar straps on his arms and legs where spikes jutted out. His weapons were three long claws rising from his knuckles and similar claws could be seen on his feet. His face was obscured by his hair that was styled to look like an arc with three spikes at the back and he even had dark blue wings. He grinned as he licked his claws at who would be the first person he was gonna stab them into. (2600 ATK)

“And I haven’t conducted my Normal Summon, so I summon Evil Hero Infernal Gainer!”

With a proud roar, another Evil Hero emerged. It had red skin with black skeletal armor, three spikes from its back, two horns on his black-skull helmet and his hands ended in wicked claws. (1600 ATK)

“Are you going to use Dark Fusion to Fusion Summon another Evil Hero?” asked Reiji.

Jaden smirked and answered, “Oh I’ll do more than that.” Everyone got a chill down their spines. “First, I use Dark Fusion once again!”

“He drew another one?” Yuzu asked.

“And I use it to fuse my Elemental Hero Sparkman and Elemental Hero Clayman.”

“A new fusion?” Serena asked.

Masumi remembered something her Gem-Knights said, something about one of them being attacked by Thunder Giant. She could clearly imagine Sparkman and Clayman being used for that. So if they were scared by that, what the hell was the _ Evil _ version of Thunder Giant like?!

_ “Crackling lightning and quaking earth, be filled by the darkness within my very soul and be reborn! Dark Fusion Summon! Evil Hero Lightning Golem!” _

With a final bolt of lightning, a large monster that towered over Reiji’s own, stood. At first, one would think that it would look it worked for the side of good, what with the cyan armor, raised shoulders shaped like lightning bolts and the lavender blades, two on the upper arm, one on the lower one that showed off his skill. However, it somehow still gave off a malicious aura like that of Inferno Wing. (2400 ATK)

_ So, which one of you will give me a good fight? _ Lightning Golem said, staring at the three D/D/D monsters. _ I rather relish in pounding you with my bare hands then letting a simple bolt of lightning strike you down. _

The D/D/D monsters wanted to hiss at the Evil Hero, Alexander and Caesar both could match him, and Alexander could survive, but they could sense something else coming. Alexander’s eyes trailed to Malicious Edge who was smirking at them, the same way Inferno Wing did. 

_ Oh what’s _ wrong _ , little kings? _ asked Malicious Edge. Infernal Gainer smirked, loving to see how these lesser fiends squirming in terror. _ Is there something on my face? _

“That’s strong, but even with that he still won’t win against Reiji,” Masumi said.

_ Lightning Golem’s Ability allows him to destroy any monster on the field _ Jesse explained. _ But I don’t think that that’s what he’s gonna do. _

_ “Wait, why not?” _ Joey asked _ “If he can destroy any monster that Reiji has, then that’s one less monster to worry about.” _

Atem then noticed Malicious Edge and shivered. _ I think I might know why… _

_ What do you mean, Pharaoh? _Seto asked.

_ He drew six cards, if I’m right then... _ Atem’s pupils shrunk in fear. _ Oh no...he’s planning on using _that card!

“So then...Ladies and Gentlemen, I am glad to see you all stick around for this performance. But...now it’s time for the grand finale!” Jaden said with a smirk.

“What?” Yuzu yelled.

“No way!” Serena said.

“He’s gotta be bluffing,” Yaiba shouted as well. 

_ He drew it alright. _Atem said.

_ Drew what? _Seto asked, a shiver falling down his spine. 

The audience whispered in fear, like they are anticipating a demon lord about to be summoned from the depths of the Netherworld.

“I’m going to use this, my most powerful Spell Card,” Jaden said, pulling one of two cards out of his hand.

“Your most powerful?” Reiji asked, eyes wide.

“That’s right. A card made from the sacrifices of others, a card that only I am allowed to wield. I play the Spell Card known as _ Super Polymerization _!”

“Super what?!” Mazumi asked

“What kind of card is that?” Yuzu yelled.

“I’ve never heard of it,” Serena said.

Jaden played his Spell Card as thunder and lighting roared. Howling winds blew across the field as Malicious Edge grinned and Reiji’s monsters looked in fear.

“I must discard one card from my hand, and then I can fuse by using a monster from my side of the field and one from _yours,_” Jaden explained. “And no. Super Polymerization cannot be negated. Now I will Fusion Summon using my Evil Hero Malicious Edge and _your _D/D/D Flame King Genghis!”

“Say what?!” Reiji asked in panic. A card that can use his monsters on the field?

“That card is broken, broken I say!” Shingo shouted. “There’s no way a card like that can exist!”

The picture of Super Polymerization appeared behind Jaden, looming as thunder seemed to crack. The Evil Heroes on the field were chanting again and it was more terrifying than when the voices were disembodied.

** _He is the power...he is the power...he is the power...He is the power! HE IS THE POWER! HE IS THE POWER! HE IS THE POWER!_ **

“I am,” Jaden declared as Malicious Edge was sucked into the card. D/D/D Flame King Genghis did all he could to withstand the force of the card, but it was useless. He ended up being absorbed with an agonizing scream as Wave King Caesar and Gust King Alexander looked in horror.

Jaden raised a hand into the air and made a fist before bringing his hands together and intangling his fingers as he began to chant, imitating Sora’s chants and the power he resonated from the monster he was about to bring forth.

_ “From the Depth of Darkness, a terror unleashed. The Gates of the Dark World open and the masses tremble when he appears. Now he arrives and everything will turn to ash! Dark Fusion Summon! EVIL HERO MALICIOUS BANE!” _

Emerging from Super Polymerization was a demon. It had midnight blue scales that looked black and a body figure that looked like Infernal Gainer but bulkier and probably twice as tall. It had Malicious Edge’s claws that were twice the length of the former monster’s, a long black tail like a dragon and a black cape like the shadows trailing behind his back. His six crimson eyes leered at Gust King Alexander and Wave King Caesar, not giving a damn that there were Synchro and Xyz Monsters on Reiji’s field. (3000 ATK)

Darkness and power radiated off of the new monster in waves; even Yuya and Yugo stood there looking at the monster with wide eyes feeling such darkness coming from one monster. 

“That thing…” Masumi whimpered.

Malicious Bane stood before Jaden and crossed his arms.

_ “Welcome Bane, it has been too long,” _Lightning Golem greeted with a grin on his face.

Infernal Gainer cackled and grinned as well, and this was when Yoko realized something.

“Wait a second,” she said. “Doesn’t Sinister Necrom allow Jaden to Special Summon an ‘Evil Hero’ from the Extra Deck?”

“What do you mean?” asked Masumi.

“Jaden didn’t need to summon Malicious Edge and use that Super Polymerization to bring out Malicious Bane. He could’ve just summoned Malicious Bane without going through all that extra work! So why...why do it if you already had the means of summoning him?”

“He probably wanted to show off that card,” Yuya said. 

“Super Polymerization?” Yuzu asked and Yuya nodded. 

Shivers ran down everyone’s spines. Jaden just wanted to show off an extra powerful weapon he has to _ the strongest duelist of their dimension _? Just how strong was he?!

** _He’s terrifying..._ **Ray whispered.

** _Be glad you never had to fight him, love. _ **Zarc added.

“Malicious Bane’s effect activates!” Jaden shouted and everyone’s attention went to him. “Once per turn, he destroys all monsters you control with attack points less than or equal to his own. And remember, your Deceitful Contract only works when your monster is in battle!”

Malicious Bane’s eyes gleamed red as gusts of Darkness radiated off of him, destroying both monsters before they could even scream in terror. Infernal Gainer howled and clapped his hands in glee while Lighting Golem frowned.

_ Show off. _ Lightning Golem muttered. Malicious Bane said nothing, but the smirk on his face was easy to see that he liked pulling off that party trick.

“And that’s not all,” Jaden continued. ”After Malicious Bane activates that effect, he gains 200 attack points for every monster he destroyed.”

Malicious Bane cackled as his attack points rose. (3000 -) 3400 ATK)

_ Even with two monsters that powerful Reiji has 8700 life points. He’ll still have enough life points to survive this. _Joey remarked.

_ Don’t be so sure. _Jesse said with a smirk..

_ Wait, what? _

Jesse pointed to Infernal Gainer who was all smiles at what was about to come next. 

_“Oh and don’t forget, Supreme King’s Castle is still in play, but at this point, it’s an overkill,” _Jesse smirked and chuckled all while the other Vassals realized just what Jaden was about to unleash.

“I use Infernal Gainer’s special effect!” Jaden shouted. “If I banish it from the field, then one of my Fiend monsters can attack twice this turn, and I choose my Evil Hero Malicious Bane!” 

Infernal Gainer flew to the sky before erupting into flames all while Malicious Bane grinned.

“OH FU--” Masumi shouted and Yaiba quickly muffled her mouth before Reira learned a very dirty word.

“Go!” Jaden shouted. “Malicious Bane, tear him down!”

Malicious Bane grinned as he flew towards the CEO of Leo Corp...but then suddenly vanished. Reiji’s pupils shrunk as he looked around, trying to figure out where the monster went...never noticing how his shadow somehow gained six red eyes.

“Nii-san! Behind you!” Reira shouted.

Reiji turned around, only to be met with Malicious Bane looming over the boy, crimson eyes aglow.

_ Remember that you specifically asked for this. _ Malicious Bane said in a calm voice, like an executioner. _ Don’t say Haou-sama didn’t warn you! _

Then, Malicious Bane’s claws sliced through Reiji’s skin. One attack from each hand knocked Reiji’s lifepoints down and the pain to linger on his chest -- even though the claws left no slash marks on his sweater. Before Reiji even had a chance to breathe, Malicious Bane grabbed onto Reiji’s scarf and then slammed the boy, face first, onto the ground and placed his claws on the top of Reijis’s silver hair, immobilizing him.

**Reiji: 1900**

**Jaden: 2000**

“We have to stop this now!” Yaiba said, seeing Reiji struggling to rise to his knees.The other students were screaming and panicking, unsure what to do next. “This is too much!”

Jaden just watched with uncaring eyes as Reiji struggled to stand up. But Malicious Bane wouldn’t let Reiji even lift his head. Malicious Bane was right; Reiji asked for this.

“Now Lightning Golem, finish this!” Jaden shouted at his other Evil Hero monster. “LIGHTNING HAIL!”

_ I got this! _Lightning Golem said, all whie Malicious Bane rolled his eyes. He raised his hands into the air as lightning gathered into the palm of his hand.

“That’s not good, that’s not good!” Masumi said. “Doesn’t that deck have anything to stop the attack?”

“Last I checked, no,” said Yuya. “His deck was always about getting resources to Fusion or Synchro or Xyz Summon. His Dark Contracts had no power to protect his monsters at all.”

“What about his Pendulum Cards?!” 

“No, they wouldn’t have helped,” said Serena. “The ones I saw him use had nothing about battle protection. Reiji was doomed no matter what.”

Reiji’s eyes widened as several bolts of lightning crackled in Lightning Golem’s hands. Lightning Golem then brought his hands down, as the lightning the six bolts transformed into one giant bolt that descended onto him.

“NII-SAN!!!!” Reira cried, unable to watch as Lightning Golem’s attack hit Reiji. In fact, no one else could as Reiji could only scream as the last of his lifepoints were depleted.

**Jaden: 2000**

**Reiji: 0**

When the screams had died down, everyone looked at the field. Malicious Bane was now returning to Jaden’s side as Lightning Golem looked proud at his handiwork.

_ Show-off _. Malicious Bane echoed as Lightning Golem chuckled.

“He...he really lost,” Masumi said, shaking like she had just survived a night in the woods where a terrifying monster lurked.

“In four turns…” Yaiba was not in a better condition than her.

“You did well,” Jaden said to the Evil Heroes as the Field Spell vanished like a dream, leaving the fear of a nightmare in its wake.

“Thank you, my king,” Both friends replied and disappeared into the darkness. 

Jaden held his head in his hand shaking the last of the darkness away, his shoulders dropping. The darkness could take a toll on him if he wasn’t careful. He then looked at Reiji and sent him a tired smile before giving Reiji his signature peace sign. “That’s game.” 

“I, the man, Gongenzaka, am utterly speechless,” Gongenzaka replied.

“That’s the power of a Supreme King,” Yugo said.

“Yeah if he’s messing with you,” Yuya added. “If he _ really _wanted to defeat someone, he would. And he wouldn’t be giving out peace signs either.”

“And _ Zarc _has the same strength?” Yoko whispered.

Both boys exchanged a look. “We just know they’re equals,” Yuya said.

“Yeah, no part is stronger than the other,” Yugo agreed with a nod.

That was concerning. Zarc was an all powerful dragon king that is _ ten thousand years old _ and his equal was this boy with a Winged Kuriboh and loved devouring fried shrimp, tail and all?!

“Like we said, he was only fooling around with both Masumi and Reiji. Haou-sama is stronger than that,” Yuya said.

“Nii-san…” Reira whispered. “Nii-san!”

She tore herself away from Yuya’s grasp and raced towards the court, where Reiji started to rise to his knees, feeling every nerve in his body affected by that last attack.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jaden asked, coming closer to Reiji, his eyes back to the warm brown colors they used to be. 

“....” Reiji said nothing as he gathered his cards, feeling his heart pound in his chest. He had never felt fear in a duel before. But seeing the castle, Jaden not even flinching at his strongest monsters, how Inferno Wing didn’t even seem to scream in terror as she was destroyed, that Polymerization card Jaden had that used his _ own monster _ as fuel. Not to mention how Malicious Bane and Lightning Golem acted to their “King’s” commands as if they were just soldiers following their general into battle...

Reiji had done his best to suppress his fear. For three years he kept working, making sure to prepare for every situation, having to deal with so many mergers and acquisitions from various Duel Schools while hiding it under the context of expanding the LDS name across the globe without anyone knowing why Reiji wanted them so badly. Not to mention getting the Board of Directors off his back for trying to do his father’s job.

And now? Now everything he’s done over the past three years was coming back to haunt him. All those schools he acquired now demanding questions about how long he kept this whole dimensional war thing behind their backs, parents who have been asking what happened to their children and if they were safe -- particularly those of Halil, Olga and Hokuto -- the parents of Yu Sakuragi were wondering what traumatized their son and Masumi and Yaiba now knew that he had scrambled their memories…

Everything was starting to fall apart and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Jaden put a hand on Reiji’s shoulder, making Reiji flinch and look up at Jaden who was kneeling in front of him with a warm smile. 

“You did good,” Jaden said. “I’m sorry, but you did ask for my most powerful monsters. I warned you they and I are dangerous.”

“I… I don’t know…” Reiji replied, doing his best not to make his voice tremble, to show that he was afraid. “I’ve never ...felt a power like yours before… I didn’t expect something like this at all.”

Jaden smiled. “Yeah, I gathered that...Man if I was dueling you with my Elemental Heroes I would have lost for sure.”

“Is anyone in Academia as strong as you?” Reiji asked, lifting his head.

“Where I came from there were strong duelists… I honestly don’t know what happened to most of them since the dimensional split. I only survived because I rule the Darkness,” Jaden sat down, cross legged. “I used to be a normal kid you know,” he said with a smile, Winged Kuriboh came to hover over his shoulder and he gave it a pat on the head. “I loved dueling with all my heart, went to Duel Academy to become the next King of Games. It didn’t pan out this way. The Sacred Beasts, the Society of Light, the Dark World itself, and then Darkness. Everything came crashing down. And for a long time, I didn’t remember how to duel just for fun. That’s not even counting that time I traveled to the past to stop Paradox…”

Serena was about to question who Paradox was and how Jaden could even travel through time, but Yuzu shook her head.

“I don’t like using my Evil Heroes,” Jaden added. “They’re powerful and loyal to me; I created them after all. But my pain and darkness tainted my monsters and transformed them as they are. My darkness and them are tied together because of that connection. And they’re willing to just unleash that pain and suffering onto others, and they don’t care who they are and don’t care how powerful their opponents seem to be. In their eyes, the Evil Heroes just want to inflict suffering and obey me.” 

“That is...quite terrifying,” Reiji commented.

“Yeah, I get scared sometimes too. Not from them, but from what _ I’m _willing to do.”

Reiji’s eyes looked from Jaden to the ground, thinking that over. It never occurred to Reiji that he would be afraid of _ his _ own actions. To him, no matter what, they had to be done if it meant stopping his father.

“Some of the Academia Students are vicious too,” said Jaden. “The difference is I don’t want to hurt anyone; what my Evil Heroes spread is the pain and loneliness I felt back then. Obelisk Force will happily bring pain and suffering to others. While your father did brainwash them to attack, _ they _were the ones who enjoyed seeing the enemies scream in pain and treat this execution as a game. To some of my monsters a job is a job, to others it’s showing their enemies that they are stronger than them. Obelisk Force will not show compassion or mercy. If you show them that, they will bite you and ridicule your weakness, because that’s what they see compassion as. If you’re not one of them, you’re their enemy.

“They believe themselves to be superior, they will not back down about what they believe in. to them they are better than everyone. Be careful, don’t underestimate them.” 

Everyone nodded their heads at that.

“I see the way you are, strong, stoic, alone,” Jaden said, staring at Reiji. “You feel like you have to shoulder this burden by yourself. You push everyone away by building this wall and you don’t explain the truth. But Reiji, that’s hurting you and you never let anyone see that, do you?

“It reminds me of something I heard once, ‘Kings don’t have friends, only subjects and enemies. You knew you were strong, but I just beat you. It shows that no matter how strong you are there might be someone who can beat you. You shouldn’t rely on your strength alone, Reiji. There are other people here who wish to help you. Even _ you _make mistakes. Had I chosen, I could have sent another high level Monster to my graveyard and you wouldn't have been able to destroy Inferno Wing. Your monster would have been destroyed and you would have lost in a worse way.” 

“So all of that was to teach him a lesson?” asked Masumi.

“I guess…” Yuya nodded.

_ Jaden always extended a hand and a second chance, _ Jesse said. _ He’s not evil, even if he looks scary. He always had a big heart and a warm smile. He always tried to find the bright side. But even some things are his limit. _

_ Same with Yugi. _Joey said, hand on his friend’s shoulder.The tri-haired boy flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. Atem chuckled and placed a kiss on his partner’s cheek.

Reiji sighed. “Thank you I’ll...take what you said to heart,” he said, and Jaden gave him another warm smile. “But why did you come here in the first place though?” Reiji asked, standing up with Jaden and putting a hand on Reira’s shoulder to comfort her. 

_ He came for me. _ Jesse said, somehow materializing next to Jaden. Flesh and blood, not transparent like a ghost. _ Well, me and another friend. _The blue haired boy came closer to Jaden, the brown haired boy placed a tender hand on Jesse’s face and gave him a soft loving kiss. People were quite confused as to what Jaden was touching in the air.

“Right so,” Jaden looked at Yuya. before trailing his eyes to Zarc’s spirit who was standing behind Yuya and Yugo with Ray by his side. “ I still need to talk to you.” 

“Um, what for?” asked Yuya, unsure why he was needed.

_ For me. _ A feminine voice answered.

Another spirit suddenly appeared next to Jesse, young looking, with tears in their eyes and a warm smile. They had purple hair and piercing green eyes and dressed in a matching purple robe. _ Jaden…. _they whispered and ran to Jaden’s arms, hugging him.

“Yubel,” he said with wide eyes. “You look...you look like you’ve never gone through the transformation,” he said in wonder, cupping Yubel’s face between his hands tenderly. 

“There are spirits here?” Reiji asked, seeing as Jaden looks as if he’s talking to air. 

“Oh yeah aside from Winged Kuriboh there are eight other spirits here.” Jaden said, smiling at the others Dragon Vassals and Zarc and Ray before looking back at Yuya. “So then, can we talk?” 

“Uh….sure?” asked Yuya.

“Hold on just a moment!” Shingo snapped. “What’s so important about Yuya Sakaki that the so-called Supreme Slifer wants to talk to him? Why, _ I’m _the one who’s gonna be leading the fray against Academia after all!”

_ Oh for the love of Ra just SHUT UP!!!! _ Yugi exclaimed.

_ I agree, aibou. _Atem noted. 

“Supreme Slifer?” Jaden asked with a raised eyebrow.

_ That...actually is the right thing to call him. _Seto admitted with a smirk.

“Yuya this, Yuya that,” Shingo huffed, arms folded over his chest. “It’s not all about him, you know! I mean, _ I’m _also going to be showing off the power of Pendulum summoning and -- “

“Shingo Sawatari, can I ask you something?” Yoko questioned with such a wide smile that it looked like her cheeks were hurting.

“Oh god, I can’t watch,” said Serena, knowing how dangerous Yoko could be in a brawl.

“Is hiding your horrible self-esteem issues by making everything about you the _ only _thing you’re capable of doing?” Yoko asked with such a saccharine voice that she used when she cooed over adorable animals..

That caused Shingo to pause and everyone to feel a very icy chill. Even Reiji’s eyes widened in surprise.

_ Ooooh….. _Mokuba winced.

** _That’s the Yoko I know and love..._ **Zarc chuckled.

** _What, so you’re into older women? _ **Ray joked.

** _You should’ve seen her when I accompanied her to see your...mother. _ ** Zarc replied. ** _Yoko isn’t afraid to really tell it where it hurts._ **

Jaden tilted his head looking at Shingo and that’s when it clicked. “You know, Shingo Sawatari...you remind me of an old friend of mine.”

“Really?” asked Shingo. “Was he as great and talented as yours truly?”

“Well, honestly the first time I met Chazz Princeton he was a bit of a jerk. He was one of the top students in Obelisk Blue: rich, boasting about his abilities, the powerful cards, the teacher’s pet, and always surrounding himself with an entourage or something. He hated me because I was the opposite of he was, even tried expelling me once or twice. But after he lost to me a few times though, his self-esteem team kinda left him alone.”

“Sounds like someone we know,” Masumi muttered.

“Chazz kinda got a few humility lessons,” Jaden continued. “And his older brothers turned out were putting immense pressure on him, calling him worthless like they didn’t care about him, but what _ he _ could do for _ them _.

“Chazz was a good duelist though. He actually went against one of the top decks at the time with only monsters level four or lower, and nothing outside of Fusion Summoning was around at the time either. I actually don’t know why President Kaiba agreed to the conditions of making Chazz fight with monsters with less than 500 attack points though.”

_ Oh please. _ Seto stated with a smirk. _ Give me a break, the fools had a _ lot _ to learn about world domination. _

“Uh...thanks then?” Jaden replied, sweat dropping a bit.

“So what are you getting at?” asked Shingo. “That guy is _ nothing _like me.”

“Exactly!” Jaden said cheerfully. “Chazz is actually self-aware of his flaws.” 

Shingo blinked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Chazz was haughty and proud and boastful. He was strong, and he never acknowledged that anyone was better than him, not even me. But he wasn’t selfish or weak willed, he was strong enough to beat almost all of the school. Chazz had a high opinion of himself, yes, but he became a better person, more mature and capable of facing his doubts head on.

“_ You _on the other hand, seem to be stuck as a petulant child who can’t even back his claims up with a duel. You keep throwing tantrums and whine about not being in the spotlight on matters that don’t even concern you. I mean, what’s more important right now? Saving the dimensions from destruction or making sure someone knows that you can actually pick up a Duel Disk?”

“Burn…” Yaiba mumbled and Masumi could only exhale at how savage that remark was.

“And he’s doing it with a smile on his face,” Yuzu added. 

Jaden looked at the audience with that beaming smile on his face. “Everyone can become a better duelist. The point is to shoot for it, not stay where you are and just say, ‘I can’t change; this is how I am’. But you have to remember that to become better, you have to admit to yourself that you want to change and find out what’s _ really _ important to you. There is no giving up on your dreams, but for them you have to acknowledge where you are and what you’re doing wrong.”

“As if there’s nothing wrong with me,” Shingo said, running his hair through his bangs...much to the annoyance of, oh, nearly _ everyone _there.

“God, will he never stop talking about himself?”

“He won’t stop boasting about how he’s a ‘bonafide’ Lancer.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be bonafide _ loser _ instead?”

“Of course there’s nothing wrong with you,” Jaden agreed. “Except that you don’t _ really _have anyone who really likes you for who you are, right? Just like Chazz, the moment he lost, everyone left him because he lost to a so-called Slifer Slacker to the point that he transferred to a different school where ‘only the strongest survived’ to get the attention and power he truly craved.”

“Sort of like the Ryozanpaku school,” Gongenzaka grumbled. 

“Chazz wanted to come back to Duel Academy after that, and we accepted him back...but he had to build himself up all over again, and he showed he could. Right now Sawatari I’m looking through this room, and I don’t see _ anyone _ having any faith in you. I don’t even think you have faith in _ yourself _, do you?” 

“That does explain why he kept changing decks,” said Yuzu. “And even if Shingo is using Pendulum, he doesn’t exactly _ improve _ on it.”

“He probably does it to find the strongest deck instead of one he chose himself and likes. We all have our own decks that we chose and improved on, instead of having someone else choose and build it for us. My Elemental Heroes, Masumi’s Gem-Knights, Serena’s Lunalights, the D/D/D kings...they all resonated in us, didn’t they?”

Many of the students looked at their decks in thought. Yoko stared at her own deck of Dragunity monsters and smiled. 

“When you choose your own cards there is always a special connection and ease in how you use them. If you choose a deck that you just don’t like playing, even if it was strong, you will not duel with it right, and something will always feel off. Tell me Shingo, what monsters do you use?”

“Abyss Actors,” Shingo answered. “Their theme is that they are a performing troupe of Fiends, with each member based on a different type of character.”

“That sounds cool! So do you feel happy or entertained when you use them?” 

Shingo paused. “No, I just picked it up because the last deck I used I lost.”

“But it was the same deck you used against me and the audience cheered us on,” said Yuya. “Those Yosenjus were pretty cool, why give them up?”

“Because _ this _ deck shows everything that’s amazing and awesome about the great Neo-Sawatari!” Shingo boasted. “A performer who can take on any and all roles and flawlessly turns a fumble into a well-thought out act!”

“He’s never going to shut up….” Masumi muttered.

Jaden just sighed before turning to Yuya. “Anyway, Yuya. before we get interrupted again, let’s take this somewhere quiet…

“Um sure…” Yuya said before heading out of the duel court with Jaden in tow all while Shingo still kept talking about himself and everyone had covered their ears. 

…

…

…

Dennis was freaking out. 

This kid, Jaden Yuki, a Slifer Red, not only defeated Masumi without losing a single lifepoint on him, but now he just defeated _ Reiji Akaba _ of all duelists?! The guy who mastered all summoning methods that even _ Dennis _is scared to go against, and Reiji was beaten down within four turns.

And the talk about the dimensions being whole in the past, the history behind Duel Monsters, Jaden’s advice about Obelisk Force -- okay Dennis had to admit that most of Obelisk Force are a bunch of bullies who liked the whole “Strength in numbers” routines because that way their inferior dueling skills were completely overshadowed by their partners’ own superior skills -- and this talk about Duel Spirits had him afraid for his life. 

Magic is real? Duel Monsters can speak? And think? And they’ll all be heading for Academia because someone called the Supreme King is going to help them? Maybe he should warn the professor about this student and the imminent threat.

But then a thought crossed his mind: would the Professor believe such a thing? Or worse, what if the Professor thought Dennis knew too much? What if this was knowledge no one from Academia was supposed to know?

Yeah, Dennis was freaking out! He had no idea what to do, or what to say. Jaden was a danger for sure. His monsters were nothing to sneeze at either, and all of them were so terrifying they made the Ancient Gears look like children’s beaten up toys.

The only thing Dennis could do for the time being was see how it played out. He knew that the Lancers would probably go to Synchro first, meaning that he still has time to figure things out. He should at least tell the Professor about the student called Jaden Yuki.

...But what if the Professor pressed into this more? Ask how Dennis knew that name?

Ugh, this was so frustrating! And Dennis knew his silver tongue wasn’t going to get him out of this mess. At best, Akaba might ask him to spy a bit more. At worst, Dennis might suddenly be whisked away to Academia and interrogated. 

Maybe it is best if he did keep quiet for a while, at least until he can be sure that he won’t be outed as a spy or be punished for anything. The things Jaden talked about, they seem dangerous. And now, half of LDS knows and believes in such things.

Dennis sighed and kept watching the Sakaki family and others. They seemed to have things they needed to talk about with their friends. And honestly just Jaden’s duels made him uneasy and tired to the bone. He needed some rest.

Just looking at Yuya and Yoko made him kinda guilty. He was honest in that he was inspired by Yusho, but he saw Yoko and knew that she wasn’t the type to fall for handsome guys so easily. If he told Yoko what really happened to her husband...well, he’d rather not think about that. 

It would all be worth it by the end though, for the utopia the professor had promised. Everything should go back to the way it was, it’s what he promised after all. It’s what they’ve all been taught over and over. 

A sliver of doubt couldn't help but enter Dennis’ heart. Was it really all worth it by the end? Would a Utopia truly be achieved? Could the Professor be wrong? Someway? Somehow? Was all of this a mistake?

It scared him. The guilt he already felt from the Xyz Dimension’s destruction when he saw all those innocent people he once entertained with his magic screaming in terror, carded, forever immobilized in fear. The Professor promised them that these people would come back, that they shouldn’t worry, but was he right? A margin for error was a very real possibility, and after all, Academia destroyed homes, separated families, traumatized hundreds of minds so that they saw dueling as a terror instead of joy. Would a utopia even be _ worth it _ for them? All the people that were harmed in making the Utopia, would they see it as a fair price to pay? 

No...no it wasn’t. They didn’t ask for this, the terror, the fear, the destruction, all in the name of the utopia the professor promised. The more he looked into his guilt, the faces forever frozen in fear, the cries for help like air sirens, the tears of the children that not even his simple magic tricks could make them disappear… the laughter of the Obelisk Forces as they played their game. It made him sick. 

And worse of all was that once this was found out, _ everyone _ would blame him. Everyone would hate him for just standing there and letting Academia do what they want without any concerns or consequences for their actions. Or how he pretended to be on their side when in reality, he was always the enemy.

But it’s not like he could do anything about it now. He realized it too late, and he couldn’t run from Academia. They’ll find him, they’ll outlast him, and they’ll card him as a traitor. 

And then there was the fear he just experienced from Jaden’s monsters, just as ruthless as those Academia students gleefully carding those people in a sick twisted game of fun. He wished it could all stop. 

Dennis looked at his Duel Desk. Maybe...maybe he should change it...Reiji had a way of transporting them, after all. He wouldn’t need this duel desk, if Academia couldn’t forcefully bring him back then there was a chance...maybe…

What should he do? 

…

…

…

A few minutes later Yuya came back into the arena. Thankfully by then, Shingo was no longer talking and most of the court had cleared out.

“Where’s Jaden?” Yoko asked. 

“He left. He got what he came here for.”

“That was it? Well, what exactly did he come for?”

“It’s kinda a long story.”

“Like the story you will have to tell, I, the man, Gongenzaka,” Gongenzaka pointed out. 

Yuya sighed and gave his friend a shaky smile. “Yeah. I’m...I’m sorry I kept this from you for quite some time. Oh and Jaden wishes us luck though, and said he’ll help if we called him. He’ll be doing his own thing, but he is our ally.” 

“So what do we do now?” asked Yuzu.

Yuya shrugged. “Get back home, if we’re done I guess.” 

“Hey!” Masumi said suddenly, walking closer to the group with Yaiba by her side. There was silence as Masumi turned to Yuzu and said “Just wanted to say good luck. You guys better win you hear?” 

“We will,” said Yuzu.

“Show that strength you gave me to those Academia assholes,” Yaiba said to Serena.

Serena nodded with a grin. “I promise.” 

“And make sure to show those people in Synchro what I taught you,” Yaiba told Gongenzaka.

“I will, sensei,” Gongenzaka replied, bowing toward the smaller X-Saber duelist. 

“Oh and Yuya,” said Yaiba. He looked down shyly before adding, “I’m sorry for that jab at your old man. I hope you find him...if he’s out there.”

“Oh he’s probably out there,” Yoko muttered, hand on her hip. “Good luck in your training, and remember to relax a little. After all, you’re still kids. And besides, you're not the ones diving head first into this war."

"But hey, we should have a humongous collaboration play-fight when this is all over," Serena suggested. 

"Very well," said Masumi. "But my Gem-Knights will prove that they are not cowards. They will proudly take your Lunalights on!"

"I look forward to our fight," said Serena, shaking Masumi's hand. "And again, about..."

"It's over," said Masumi. "When Hokuto comes back, he'll probably be mad about it for a while, but then he'll be back to reclaming his perfect duel streak."

"Better not tell him that Yuya has that dragon now." Yaiba said with a grin.

"We'll be back soon," said Yoko, placing her hands on the shoulders of Yuya and Yuzu. "That we promise."

The group left as Masumi and Yaiba began to head back to class. As they did, Yaiba noticed that Masumi was in deep thought.

"Hey," he said. "If it's about your loss to Jaden.,,"

"No, it's not that," Masumi said, arms over her chest. "It's just, everything we just learned is so overwhelming. I feel so...small compared to everything."

Yaiba just placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's not think about it now. Come on, why don't we get a bite to eat? I heard the cafeteria is serving your favorite."

Masumi paused before smiling. "Yeah, I think it's about time to eat. Hopefully we'll arrive just in time before Shingo starts talking about himself. Again."

***********

Yuya, Yugo, Yuzu, Serena, Gogenzaka and Yoko reached the Sakaki residence half an hour later. They found Shun and Yuto in the living room with Yuto leaning on Shun as they watched the TV just as the credits were rolling. Yoko took the time to take a photo of the lovebirds on her phone.

“So you don’t like my horror collection, yet you’re watching _ The Nightmare Before Christmas _?” Yoko asked, noticing the DVD on the table.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like horror,” Yuto stated. “I just insinuated you watch it too much to the point it wrapped yours and Yuzu’s brains. Besides I read the summary, it can hardly be considered ‘Horror’ the stop motion is the creepiest thing about it and even that’s not bad.” 

“...You just wanna ruin everything, don’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Yoko sighed. “I don’t really understand your type of ‘fun’ and what you find interesting. I mean, you’re the one closest to the darkness and creatures of the night!”

“I said I don’t mind your horror movies, but the way you force them down our throats, and Yuzu insinuating Shun is a psychopath thanks to them, pissed me off.”

“...Fair point.”

Gogenzaka, Yuzu, Serena, Yuya and Yuto walked in, sitting themselves down. Gongenzaka knew there was much to discuss, but he would let everyone else explain it to him. 

“So...what did we miss?” Yuto asked.

“Yoko kaa-san defeated Gongenzaka thanks to my teaching!” Yugo boasted. 

“Reiji apologized for sending Yusho off that stupid crusade,” Yuya stated, much more serious before sitting beside Yuto. Yuto just patted Yuya’s shoulder.

“Let’s order some take out first,” said Yoko. “We do need to tell Gogenzaka everything. Anyone want ramen?”

Yuto and Shun exchanged looks before nodding. This was going to be a long night.

“Ramen?” Serena asked, tilting her head.

“Ramen!!!!” Yugo squealed. “It’s not gonna be that instant cup noodle stuff right?”

“Nope, this is the genuine article,” said Yoko, going to the refrigerator and removing the take-out menu from her and Yuya’s favorite ramen restaurant stuck to the door by a magnet. “Now come and choose; it’s on me after all.”

After Yoko wrote down everyone’s request for ramen for tonight’s dinner, Gongenzaka was brought to the living room and he was told the entire story after he vouched that he would not stand up from his seat until he learned everything.

About half an hour later the doorbell rang, at which Yoko went and picked up everyone’s ramen and paid the delivery boy, Gongenzaka still sat as Yuya finished the explanation. He was still silent as Yoko passed different bowls of ramen to everyone before finally seating herself down and having her spicy _ tonkotsu _ ramen.

“And...that’s everything up to now,” Yuya finished as he went to his _ shoyu _ ramen. “So...you’re not...mad, are you? I'm sorry for hiding everything from you on purpose. I just recently found out and with all that's happened, I didn’t have the time to...explain things well...”

“I, the man, Gongenzaka, thought I had seen it all,” Gongenzaka began, arms folded across his chest. He hadn’t lowered them since he sat down. “Other dimensions, an evil school that turns people into cards, dragons, knights of old...it seems like something out of a fairy tale but this is the reality I live in right now.”

“I know that it is hard to believe. We’ve known each other for a long time, and I just remembered it so recently,” Yuya added. “And I want you to know that --”

“Yuya,” said Gongenzaka. “You don’t need to say anymore.”

Yuya, having gathered some sliced scallion to sprinkle over his ramen, suddenly dropped everything in his hand to the carpet. “W...what do you mean?”

“Prince, dragon, it doesn’t matter. You’re Yuya and I, the man, Gongenzaka, am your friend. You have been acting very weirdly and I have been very worried about you, especially with the way you act around your… brothers. I did not know what I could do. It is a relief to know that your actions were normal for your situation. I, the man, Gongenzaka will have your back on this quest,”

Yuya didn’t know if it was the hot steam of ramen on his face but he could feel his cheeks turn red and tears forming in his eyes. 

“Th-thank you,” Yuya whispered, voice shaking before rubbing the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Gongenzaka…” Yuzu whispered, also relieved. 

“This is a dangerous road, and we will need all the help we can get,” Gongenzaka continued. “If what Yugo says is correct, Synchro Dimension won’t take kindly to us.”

“So we need to figure out a strategy now,” said Yoko. “Last I heard, Shun and Yuto gave their Duel Disks to Reiji so he can reverse-engineer the technology to warp dimensions. Wait...how did you do such a thing?”

“We stole some of the Obelisk Forces’ duel disks. Ours didn’t have the solid technology so after we beat some of them, we took their own duel desks and used them, well our friend Allen used them, to somehow replicate the technology and then have us teleported to this dimension to get help,” Yuto explained, drinking the broth from his miso ramen. 

“But it’s not stable, seeing as Shun wasn’t with you when you dueled Shingo.”

Yuto nodded his head. “We might get seperated, so we might need a plan to meet again.”

“The only problem is that Yugo is the only one who knows Neo-Domino, and mostly he’ll just know _ his _ home,” Serena said, taking a loud slurp from her bowl of ramen like Yuzu taught her. “What if we get stuck in a Tops-restricted area? After all, those Security guys have motorcycles. It’s not like we can, I dunno, communicate in our minds or something.”

** _Hmm...that’s actually a splendid idea, Little Luna_ ** **.**

“Huh?” Serena blinked before looking around for Zarc. “So...we can communicate through our minds?”

** _Indeed, my children and I do it all the time. _ **Zarc explained

Yuzu blinked, also hearing Zarc in her head. This was...different. Definitely like all those horror shows she saw or read of ghosts talking to protagonists because they had no other way of communicating.

Yoko wanted to comment that Zarc should just show himself, but decided against it. She just wanted to enjoy this last supper in Standard before the big trip to the Synchro Dimension. “So, just a show of hands...how many of you can talk in your minds?”

She was immediately answered with everyone but Gongenzaka raising a hand.

“I’ve never tried it before but Blood Moon Dragon did talk to me,” said Serena.

“I think Ray and I count?” Yuzu said, still not sure. She hadn’t talked to Ray the entire day and felt slightly guilty for it.

“Just asking,” said Yoko. “But, okay, aside from us we have four other people joining the group. We don’t know how we’re going to be separated and how we’re gonna ‘convince’ them to trust us. Shingo is arrogant, Dennis will think about performing to inflate his own self-worth, Tsukikage is...well, he’s a ninja, Reira’s a child and Reiji...well, you know how I feel about him,” Yoko bit into a piece of fatty pork in her ramen.

“I talked to Reiji, and he does trust us,” Yuya said. “Reira is a child but she is a strong duelist and can see spirits. We can always find a way to reach her.”

“As for Dennis, we’ll take care of him as soon as possible,” said Yuto. 

“I, the man, Gongenzaka, cannot believe that Dennis could hide such evil,” Gongenzaka said. “Trying to warm up to Yuya using Yusho’s name. He has no honor.”

“He’ll get what’s coming to him,” Shun said firmly.

“And Sora?”

“Him too,” Yuzu said glumly, still hurt from the betrayal. She sipped the broth of her _ shio _ ramen, the saltiness a good substitute for tears she will not shed right now.

“Next thing to talk about,” said Yugo. “The Friendship Cup. It’s not going to be easy to enter. And even then, I have no doubt that someone might throw a curveball at us.”

“Reiji said he’ll convince the Council to have us duel,” said Yuya. “After all, we all use decks that use something _ other _ than Synchro. And the Friendship Cup is a perfect way not only to showcase them but also warn them about Academia.”

“That’s _ if _ they believe us and not think we’re insane,” Gongenzaka pointed out, finally unfolding his arms to start eating a bowl of curry ramen. “Suppose we get thrown into jail for spouting out such conspiracies. What then?”

“Well, we’ll be together for one thing,” Yoko joked. 

“Don’t be so sure, Yoko kaa-san,” said Yugo. “The Facility is merciless and awful; it works on whoever is the strongest, rules regardless of any actual law or order. There are rumors that you can bribe the guards to get away with cleaning duty or extra favors by giving up your cards.”

“That’s horrible…” Yuya gasped, not wanting to lose any of his cards. Particularly Timegazer and Stargazer Magician.

“Well, it will be clear that you are from different places with summoning methods so different, Synchro is easily led. If you win the Friendship Cup you become the King or Queen, give the populace enough evidence and they’ll believe everything.” Yugo pointed out.

“But that’s _ only if _ we actually get to participate in the Friendship Cup,” Yoko pointed out. “What’s to say that whatever Academia spy is in Synchro decides to arrest us, card us or kick us out of that dimension?”

“They can’t kick us out of the dimension; they don’t have the means to do so.”

“They’ll figure it out eventually,” said Yoko. “Now then, what type of monsters do Security use?”

“It’s an archetype called Goyo,” Yugo said. “It focuses on destroying a monster the opponent controls and they are ‘recruited’ to the Goyo user’s side. Basically your monster is a prisoner, just like you if you don’t figure out how to escape them.” 

“Well, we certainly have a general plan, but we do need to adapt if push comes to shove,” Yuto said. “Best laid plans and all that.”

“That’s true,” Yuzu nodded. “As long as we have a way to at least communicate with each other, and besides we can always ask for directions and agree to a meeting place.” 

“Just don’t duel unnecessarily,” said Yugo. “Only if you have to defend yourself. And Yuya, I know you want to duel to make people happy but Security is not going to be like that. They’re not going to care about anyone or anything except following orders. They’re determined to arrest those that go against the natural ‘order’ of the dimension. They won’t have time for fun or games. You need to take this seriously,”

Yuya looked down at his ramen bowl and nodded his head. “I understand.” 

Yugo ruffled his hair affectionately. “That doesn’t mean you can’t duel for fun. You can; you’ll have your chance to. And besides, if we’re together this will give me a chance to teach you all about Synchro Summoning. I mean, I taught Yoko kaa-san. And you’ve seen Synchro up close and personal, so you’ll get it in no time.”

Yuya beamed and nodded happily at Yugo. “You too, Yuto,” he said, grinning at Yuto who smiled back softly.

Yuzu finished the last of her ramen before turning to Yuya and cleared her throat. “I uh… if it’s okay….I need to talk to… your father, Yuya.”

“What?!” Yoko asked, nearly dropping a half-boiled egg to the floor.

“I need to talk with um...Lord Zarc?” Yuzu asked. looking at Serena who nodded. “It’s about this morning…”

“What do you mean?” Yuya asked, blinking.

“I asked Yuto if it was possible for Lord Zarc to give Yuzu a dragon of her own,” Serena said. “I’m not sure if he had time to create one, what with Jaden appearing and everything.”

“Jaden?” Yuto asked. 

“Haou-sama,” Yuya clarified. 

“Oh, wait...why?”

“I’ll explain later,” Yuya said. “But is that all you want, Yuzu? A new card for your deck?” 

“We-well… that and...I know Serena has powers, she told me so, and I was wondering if he can give me some too, in case I was overwhelmed and needed to protect myself or run, or even help fight off stronger people,” Yuzu explained, staring at her bracelet. “I mean, if I’m going to be a part of this, then I want to be able to help anyway that I can. I don’t wanna be on the sidelines any more.”

“Yuzu…”

“Please Yuya.”

Yuya sighed. “You’ll still have to talk to Father, things are not that cut and dry.”

Yuzu nodded. “I think this is our best option, a back-up plan if things went south. No one would expect a little girl with supernatural powers, right?”

Yuya smiled to himself. “Yeah.”

He snapped his fingers and Yuzu’s eyes widened while Gogenzaka’s jaw dropped, as Yuya no longer sat in front of them but an older looking man with golden eyes, silver hair and green highlights in his bangs. Zarc was smirking. He tilted his head, studying Yuzu who just kept a calm and focused gaze at him.

“Go on then, I’m all ears,” Zarc purred. 

“Zarc, um...sir,” Yuzu began, taking a deep breath. “Would it be possible for you to grant me the power to protect myself?”

“It is,” he said simply. “But I can’t just give the powers to you.” 

“W-why not? You gave them to Serena.”

“Yes, but not for free. Little Luna agreed to let me cut her ties with Ray, and agreed to work for my cause if I made sure neither you nor your father would come to harm from this.” 

“So I need to give you something…” Yuzu muttered, amazed that Serena saw her and Shuzo in such a light that the former Academia student would invoke a contract in order to keep them safe.

“In order to receive something in return, yes, consider it an equivalent exchange. These powers come from me, and I am gifting them to you to use. Power always needs a give and take; it _ never _comes for free.”

“So what’s the price?” Yuzu asked, her hands turning into fists, shaking. She saw Zarc through Ray’s eyes, and she knew that the body infront of her is Yuya, but even so she can sense it. The man before her radiated power and danger, even if he looked harmless and...human.

“Nothing major,” Zarc answered. “Just loyalty to me and to my sons. Nothing more, nothing less. You are willing to brave the flames of Hell for Yuya and I am grateful for your drive to seek out ways to become stronger. The same goes for you, Noboru.”

Gongenzaka just stayed silent at that. “In the future, I, the man, Gongenzaka, would request that you address me with my last name, Lord Zarc.”

“Well noted,” Zarc chuckled. “Now then, Yuzu, what type of powers do you wish for?”

“Like I said,” Yuzu said. “The ability to protect myself. I’m not a fighter. I don’t like unnecessary violence. Just...no teleporting things away, please.”

“What? But imagine the potential!” Serena said. “You can teleport things to wherever you like. And it can come in handy from escaping harm.”

“Well my bracelet originally did that and looked where it brought us,” Yuzu replied. “And teleporting doesn’t necessarily mean ‘vanish’.” 

“Your bracelet did no such thing,” Zarc clarified. “It simply teleported my sons away randomly from each other, it was far too chaotic and unpredictable and was only delaying the inevitable. It hardly protected you from anything else. And the rest of the bracelets were at best pretty trinkets. You got the most protection and even then, unless two of my sons weren’t around, it wouldn’t have done a thing.”

“What was so useful about that?” Yoko asked. 

“Nothing. It was at best a fail safe, especially since my boys were each in a different dimension virtually unaware of anything else. Had Akaba not commanded Yuri to kidnap Rin and Ruri, if he had sent someone else instead, a lot of things might not have happened.”

That made Serena pause. Things would’ve been completely different if it was _ her _ commanded to go after her counterparts. Sure, she’d recognized and respected, but only until all three counterparts were by the Professor’s side. And then she’d be rewarded by also being sacrificed for Ray. In hindsight, the fact that Akaba neglected her was a blessing. 

“Well, what are the powers you gave to the others?” Yuzu asked. 

Zarc thought of how to respond to this. “I didn’t specifically give them powers. There’s a difference between giving someone a certain power and letting an actual power manifest. Whatever power they received, it responds to their souls. A power that suits them personally. For Rin, she is powerful and ambitious and like the ice. Beautiful yet cold. For Ruri, she is about being free, feeling the wind lift all her troubles away, but she had been hurt by the war, by Academia, so she is not some helpless songbird. For Serena, she is similar to Ruri but it’s more about weightlessness, being free of being looked down by everyone in the Fusion Dimension and of the old thoughts that held her back from being her true self.” 

“That’s… quite an interesting way of putting it,” Yuzu said.

“Manifested powers are usually stronger and rather prone to developing and getting more powerful the more you understand them, while a given power is rather stale, and could possibly not suit you.” Zarc said. “A power manifested is like a part of you, it grows and develops with you, an endless potential, while simply giving you something is like putting a bow in your hair. Similarly if the powers were stored in objects then it looks pretty but it is an outside object that leaves you with nothing if you lose it.”

“Like in all those stories where maidens are given magical amulets to protect them,” said Yoko. “But once it’s lost or destroyed then that former wielder can kiss all hope good-bye.”

“Yes, simply removing the amulet would stop any protection that was given to you,” said Zarc. “It’s a miracle that no one ever decided to rip that bracelet off your arm, Yuzu. Powers have rules, new powers will always have weaknesses especially when you don’t know their limits or even your own, so you need to think carefully what you want if you want the power given to you, and if you want the powers to manifest you have to be careful with how you use them.”

“I know what I want,” said Yuzu. “To protect others and to protect myself. And if I have to fight, then it’s for self-defense.”

“Yes, but do you have a certain power in mind, or do you want your powers to be your own? That’s one part of the process.”

“I guess, manifesting them would be the best option I have,” Yuzu nodded. “Well...what else do I need now?”

“A contract,” Zarc answered, extending his hand out. 

“A contract?” Yuzu asked, tilting her head. 

“Yes,” Zarc nodded. “Power never comes for free after all; nothing does. As I’ve told you, you need a contract with the Darkness or me, its representative. If you want something you have to give something in return.” 

“Like people’s souls for example,” Yoko said.

“Oh I heard a rumor about this!” Serena said. 

“Come again?” asked Gongenzaka.

“Yeah see, the rumor says someone in Academia made a deal with a Duel Monster, a...grim reaper card I think, the card let him win all his duels but the reaper gets a soul or his soul in return.” 

“Yes that is the gist of it,” Yuto said with a nod.

“Please tell me that’s not a real thing that happened,” Yoko begged, eyes wide.

“Um…”

“We can always ask Jaden if it happened,” Yuzu said. “I mean, considering everything _ else _ he clarified…

“But back to the contract, what do you want in return? Nothing like what Serena said right?”

“No, not at all,” Zarc answered. “My request is far simpler. I want your undying allegiance and loyalty to me and my sons,” Zarc answered. “That’s quite easy, is it not? They are already your friends, and you wish to protect them above all else correct? Simply agree to work by my and their side and the contract shall be sealed.”

Yuzu’s eyes went from Zarc’s extended hands to his face

“...All right,” Yuzu nodded. “I agree.” She extended her hand and shook his hand in return. Yuzu, Yoko, and Gogenzaka’s eyes widened as two purple ribbons extended and wrapped themselves around Yuzu and Zarc’s hands, binding them together for a few seconds before they disappeared. 

“Was that...it?” Yoko asked.

“Yuzu, do you feel alright?” Gogenzaka asked.

For a moment Yoko feared that Yuzu would now start cackling like a manic and turn around with an evil look and a smirk on her face. But to Yoko’s surprise, she turned to Gongenzaka with her usual smile and nodded.

“I feel fine,” Yuzu answered. “It feels… a little different, like….like an overflow of energy is inside me that wants to get out but….it’s not really overwhelming or anything, it’s just there..” Yuzu said, trying to explain how she felt and how different it is having this power. 

“What type of powers did you get?” asked Serena.

“Hmm…” Zarc said and Yuzu’s head turned to him. 

“What is it?” Yuzu asked.

“Your powers are quite… earthbound. And as powerful as these are, I think I should give you something else in order to run if you desired to. Hmm...Give me your bracelet.”. 

“M..my bracelet?” Yuzu repeated and looked at it, in the past she couldn’t throw it away or hand it to someone else, it might have been Ray’s influence back then. With surprising ease, Yuzu removed the bracelet and gave it to Zarc.

“Hold on, you already gave Yuzu powers, right?” asked Yoko. “And you already fulfilled your side of the contract in giving her powers, so why go above and beyond and give her something extra?” It didn’t add up to the usual trope; the demon always looked for loopholes in order to give the maiden less powers and get her soul in return. 

“It’s not exactly a specific part of the contract but it is something that concerns me,” Zarc answered, knowing exactly how Yoko thought. “Yuzu works for me now. She is under my command and protection, and I quite want her to be safe, so this is a personal gift. The three girls, Serena, Ruri and Rin, do have the ability to flee from the scene. Rin has her wind, Ruri has her wings and Serena could float and fly away. Yuzu however is as I said earth-bound, so if she needs to run in the future, this is a small gift to let her flee.” He then turned to Yuzu once again. “I know you didn’t wish to teleport but this teleportation only extends to you and anyone you happen to hold onto if you desire it. You have to concentrate and either think of a person to be near, or a place you can see.”

“And given that most of us have the mental link, then it’s easy for us to coordinate,” said Yugo, following with his father’s logic. 

“Precisely dear,” Zarc said with a smile. “Now do be careful, due to this being outside of our contract it has a few set of rules. First you can only teleport a certain number of times, with only at best two other people. Any more than that and you will be drained. And second, and the most important one, if you lose the bracelet or it’s taken from you then you can’t teleport. Is that clear?” Zarc explained taking Yuzu’s hand gently and slipping the bracelet on it gingerly like a groom would slip a ring onto his bride’s finger.

“Yes,” said Yuzu. She then bowed towards Zarc. “Thank you, your...majesty. I am quite honored to receive this power.”

Zarc smiled at her and nodded. “You are quite welcome, little Bloom,” he said, placing his hand under Yuzu’s chin and raising her head to look at him. “Hmm, I also believe you are due for another present, correct? Do you still want a dragon for your deck?” 

“W-wouldn’t that be too much?” Yuzu asked.

Zarc chuckled softly. “No, not at all. Simply tell me what you desire.” 

Yuzu tilted her head. “In the stories with fairies in them, dragons are usually the enemy. All of them aggressive, territorial, scorching everything in sight with their fire breath. I don’t want that type of dragon. I want one that breathes life, that enjoys nature, not destroys it.” 

“Not all dragons are the same dear,” Zarc chuckled. “Some things are quite universal for us, such as when we find something that we consider a treasure. In the stories dragons might fight humanity, but not _ all _of them are portrayed as monsters, correct? Some are portrayed as wise, and are only vengeful when slighted. I know a dragon that was a guardian to her land. There are many dragons such as what you want.” 

“Really?” asked Serena, eyes wide. “What was she like? What land did she protect?”

“Ancient Fairy Dragon, she protected a part of her world, or as it is now, in the spirit world. She is old and powerful but quiet, gentle...well unless some fool would try to ruin the world.”

“Oh right, she was the one affected by the Minus Curse,” said Yuto. “Along with Dark Sage who got transformed into a child.”

“Yes,” Zarc nodded. “But a story for another time.” 

“Aww, I wanna hear it!” Serena pouted.

Zarc chuckled. “Perhaps later. Now then Yuzu, do you want a fusion dragon like Serena or something else?” 

“Fusion,” Yuzu answered immediately.

“Easy enough,” Zarc nodded, before raising his hand up, and placing his thumb over the index and middle finger as if he was already holding a card, before smoke like substance started to form into an actual card in his hand. Zarc smiled and handed the newly made card to Yuzu. “Congratulations, Yuzu Hiragi.”

Yuzu heard a purr, more than one actually, as she took the card into her hand, and she smiled at the beautiful dragon she was gifted with. 

_ Sweet Bloom Fusion Dragon. _

“She’s beautiful,” Serena whispered, pulling out Blood Moon Fusion Dragon from her Duel Disk and comparing it to Yuzu’s new dragon. “I can’t wait for you to use him...her? In battle.”

“It’s a he,” said Yuzu. Everyone then turned to her. “What? Just because it’s associated with flowers it just has to be a girl?”

Zarc laughed. “I should introduce you both to the rose dragons later,” he said. “But yes, this dragon is a boy. He’ll serve you quite well.” 

In response, Sweet Bloom Fusion Dragon purred again in Yuzu’s mind and Yuzu briefly saw herself in a field of flowers with said dragon while fairies danced and sang in joy.

“I wonder...if Ruri could get something like that…” Shun muttered to himself.

“I can easily grant that if your sister wished it, Shun,” Zarc said, and Shun smiled. “I can imagine a dragon with feathers and a serpentine body. My, that would be beautiful, don’t you think?”

Zarc turned to Yuzu and Serena as a brilliant idea formed in his mind. “I do have a request for you and Serena, and Rin and Ruri later on.” 

“Request?” Yuzu asked. “Are we allowed to refuse?” 

Yoko feared the answer. 

Zarc smiled softly. “Yes you are.” And Yoko let out a sigh of relief. “This is not a command, simply a request.” 

“What’s the request?” Serena asked. Yuto and Yugo looked at their Father in confusion. 

“I wish for a small piece of your soul,” Zarc said.

“What?! No!” Yoko screamed, ready to tackle Zarc out of the way.. 

“I, the man, Gongenzaka, am not liking where this is headed,” Gongenzaka muttered.

“Do calm down, you two,” Zarc said, turning to the two girls he requested this from. “It will not harm or hurt you, the piece I require is quite small and will not affect you at all. It’s just the size of a grain of sand.” 

“What for though?” Yuzu asked. 

“A small project, to create four new cards for a _ certain _ deck.” At this, everyone looked like Zarc was planning to drop a bomb in the living room. “And no, the pieces I would gain will _ not _ make me have powers over them or anything, and they are _ not _a way to control these girls, if that’s what you’re thinking Yoko-san. As I said before, I wish to protect them, and they can refuse. What I’m asking would be like removing a single strand of hair, that’s all.” 

“Well...I guess, after everything you gifted us with, it’s a small thing to give back,” Yuzu said. 

Yoko wasn’t sure how much her heart could take and they hadn’t even started traveling through dimensions yet.

“Thank you Yuzu,” Zarc said. “And you Serena?”

“I don’t mind,” the girl said immediately.

“So how does that work exactly?” Yuzu asked. 

“Well you both have given me your consent,” he said, placing his palm over Yuzu’s chest before his eyes glowed, and his hand made a graphing motion. Yuzu felt as if someone just poked her chest lightly, she blinked. 

“W-was that it?” she asked, afraid she’d start seeing crazy images or that more pain would suddenly bloom over her body.

“Yes,” Zarc answered. “I did promise you that it will not hurt correct?” Yuzu nodded, and Zarc smiled. “Now you Serena,” he called. 

Serena nodded and came closer, as Zarc did the same thing he did to Yuzu. 

“There we go,” Zarc opened his hand and showed two beautiful glowing lights, one pink and one certulean.

“Pretty~” Yugo cooed. 

“Yes they quite are, and warm. You girls both have such sweet souls, and this is just a small part of you. You both radiate quite beautifully,” Zarc told Yuzu and Serena softly, making both girls blush. Serena the most; considering how she was so close to becoming just as dark and evil as those from Academia.

Zarc closed his hand and the two lights were gone. 

“Right…..” said Yoko. “Anything you want from Gongenzaka or I?”

“None, unless you wish something from me,” Zarc answered easily. If Zarc does have plans for either they weren’t immediate.

“I, the man, Gongenzaka will like to use his own power for the time being,” Gongenzaka stated.

“Ditto,” Yoko said. 

“Very well,” Zarc nodded before turning to Yuto and Yugo and hugging them tightly. “I’ll return the control to Yuya then,” he snapped his fingers again and Yuya was back, red eyes and all.

Yuya looked at everyone before laughing and rubbing the back of his head. “So, uh...who wants a movie? A non-Horror movie?”

…

…

…

  
  


Somehow, everyone in the Sakaki residence were able to sleep well even though they spent most of the evening going over their decks to figure out how to best utilize them against Security’s Goyo monsters.

Yuya, Yuto and Yugo entered their bedroom along with Shun, Serena and Yuzu taking the guest room once more and Gongenzaka was given a comfortable array of pillows and blankets to sleep in the living room. 

** _Oh yes, my loves, I do have a few gifts for you _ **

“Gifts?” Yuto asked and his father kissed his cheek. 

** _Indeed, Yuya, let me take over your body so I can bring them here._ **

Yuya nodded, his eyes turning gold. His hands made a sweeping motion before three boxes appeared in front of him, and Zarc gave Yuya control back. 

“What...are these?” Yugo asked.

** _Yuto asked me to give him this,_ ** Zarc answered, opening one of the boxes and showing the necklace that Yuto had asked for that morning.

The boys’ eyes widened as they saw how beautiful the necklace was. The pretty blue topaz teardrop on its black fabric chain looked so good to be true. Zarc raised the necklace and placed it around Yuto’s neck, the blue gem glowed and shimmered, almost happy to be reunited. Yuto ran his thumb over it, feeling how smooth it was to touch. 

“Thank you papa~” Yuto said happily. He loved having the necklace around his neck; its weight felt so familiar to him.

** _You’re welcome, my sweet phantom_ **, Zarc said, caressing Yuto’s cheek, making him purr. 

“And the other boxes?” Yugo asked. 

Zarc smiled before he opened the smallest box. In it was an ear cuff made of silver, shaped like a dragon with an eye made from ruby. “This one is for you, my shooting star,” Zarc said and Yuya gasped. The ear cuff looked so beautiful and elegant, and it felt like it somehow belonged to him. 

“Thank you papa~” Yuya cooed. “It’s so pretty.”

** _Of course, my sweet boy _ ** Zarc chuckled before turning to Yugo. ** _And for you, my Crystal._ **

Zarc opened the last box and produced a golden cuff decorated with emeralds with lines curved on the cuff to look like the branches of a tree and the emeralds resembling leaves. Yugo squealed as he took the pretty cuff and slipped it onto his wrist. He rubbed his cheek against it and purred.

_ (Thank you for doing this, Father.) _

_ [We can’t wait to be with you again.] _

Zarc could almost swear that he felt Haze and Tempest hugging him and resting their heads on his back. Zarc licked his lips and simply answered. ** _Anything for you, my loves. _ **

Yuya, Yugo and Yuto smiled at their father before getting in their pajamas and then falling in bed to sleep. They each nuzzled him and purred, hugging him tightly before whispering “Good night”. 

Zarc smiled as he watched his boys fall into slumber, so happy to be able to do this but a part of him was also sad. He still couldn’t get over Tempest and Haze’s little nicknames and actions from this morning and he knew there was no way to have both them and his four current sons together.

Yet something in his heart was telling him to keep hope alive. Soft touches and whispers reminding him of both of his older boys, and the cards with their images...he knew he wasn’t hallucinating when he saw Haze having Yugo’s new crystal wings. But why now?

** _Tempest...Haze...are you really here? I’m afraid to believe that you are…_ **

Zarc felt a ghostly hand on his back.

_ (Father…) _

** _Tempest!_ **

_ [Father…] _

** _Haze…._ **Tears formed in Zarc’s eyes at hearing their voices again.

_ (We missed you, Father) _

_ [We will return soon. Please wait for us, don’t give up!] _

** _It’s hard for me to believe that, though. I waited and waited and waited for you to come back..._ **

_ (We couldn’t before. Now we can, just a little more time. Please wait...) _

_ [Our little brothers are so cute. I wish Yuri was here right now…] _

_ (We can’t wait to truly meet them, hug them, return to your arms.) _

** _I...I’m not sure that is wise. I don’t know how they’ll react, knowing that they weren’t supposed to exist. That you were once my only sons. They’ll be hurt, and I don’t want them to be hurt._ **

_ [But we will return, do you not want us with you Father? They might be hurt. but surely they’ll understand. We love them, as we love you, as you love us.] _

Zarc swallowed. ** _I’m afraid for Yuri. He has been through much, living in a place that only shunned him because of his powers. It makes him afraid to be abandoned, to be thought of as if he had replaced you. I do not want my child to go through pain again_ **

Zarc felt a ghostly kiss on his shoulder 

_ (Do not worry, he might be hurt but I know he’ll understand.) _

** _How can you be so sure?_ **

_ [Because we love you, and we know it’s not true, you just have to show him that you do love him.] _

** _How can I bring you back fully?_ **

_ (...We do not know yet.) _

_ [But you’ll find a way Father. It’s alright.] _

** _You two make it sound so easy. I tried every incantation, my magicians checked every tomp out there. The Prophecy spellcasters checked every Spellbook in their libraries yet found nothing!_ **

_ [And yet, we are here, perhaps not fully, but we are one step closer to returning] _

** _I will not sacrifice your brothers to return you to me. _ **Zarc’s voice was shaking. 

_ (Nor do we wish you to, Father. Do not worry about us right now. We have a tether to the worlds now, we will not disappear. Just focus on returning yourself and our kingdom.) _

_ [For now, we have so much to catch up on…] _

** _Indeed we do. I wish there was a way to gently coax these little ones. I don’t want to give it away immediately; the shock might be too much to handle._ **

_ (We understand.) _

_ [Things will happen when they happen; do not worry about it now.] _

Zarc sighed and gained a soft smile on his face, running his hand through Yuya’s hair, making the boy sigh. ** _Yes, I suppose you’re right._ **

The house was quiet for the night. Zarc, Tempest and Haze whispered to each other in an attempt to talk in what felt like centuries. Tempest and Haze were amazed to hear the stories of their little brothers, more and more excited to cuddle and kiss and hug them.

The two couldn’t do much except speak to their Father at the moment, but they knew that soon, things will change and go back to the way they’re supposed to. They didn’t know how they awoke from their slumber, just odd sensations and disembodied voices before they began to ‘feel’ each other and the darkness they were stranded in became blobs of color. Then they were bombarded with images of their baby brothers, their emotions, their memories. Tempest and Haze were so excited to know that their Father was not alone now, but still Zarc ached for them both.

But soon they would all reunite. The humans could no longer control them, force them to kill their Father. No. No, they would pay. They would _ all _ pay for this crime. And Tempest and Haze will rule over them all for this slight, for how these humans treated their little brothers.

_ (We promise Papa. We promise to come back soon.) _

_ [Wait for us.] _

** _Alright, my loves. I will. Please, return to me._ **

He didn’t know how long it was until he could no longer feel those arms around him.

_ (We will.) _

_ [Soon. We promise.] _

The presence of the two faded after a while. And Zarc sat looking at his youngest boys, wondering what they were dreaming about. Judging by the soft smiles on their faces, they had to be wonderful dreams. Zarc smiled softly and faded back to the spirit world, getting some rest himself too. He found himself in his bedchambers, Ray asleep, tired of waiting for him. Zarc smiled, recalling the days he found her asleep and not wanting to wake her up. She was more beautiful when she was lost in a dream.

Slipping into bed, he wrapped his arms around the body of his queen and kissed her shoulder. There would be more nights for them to share this kind of quiet time, he was sure of it. But right now, it was time to rest.

_ I’ll wait for a little bit longer... _ Zarc promised himself, closing his eyes. _ I promise...don’t keep me waiting...Tempest...Haze... _

***********

Yuto blinked his eyes as he looked around. He was in their Garden again, sitting on a blanket with a picnic basket and several plates around filled with food. Sandwitches, strawberries, peaches, and a thermometer with tea. 

Yuto was a little confused until a form came closer from the shadows of the trees. His eyes widened as Ruri’s familiar form came closer, however, instead of the clothes she wore when he last saw her, she now had on black strip of fabric that covered her breasts, with a golden necklace around her neck a white crystal dangling over her heart, along with two dangling earrings and gold cuffs. A loincloth that reached down her legs was the only thing that covered the lower half of her body.

Yuto swallowed, eyes wide and face beet red, before he saw that Ruri’s smile was a little shaky, her body was rigid. Yuto shook his head and blinked a few times. 

“Ru-Ruri,” he said and tried to get up before she sat down in front of him. 

“Hello Yuto,” Ruri whispered huskily.

“Are...are you okay?” he asked, not sure what to do or how to approach this situation...this really doesn’t seem like Ruri, and he can clearly see that. 

She laughed. “Oh I’m okay,” she said before crawling closer and placing her hands on Yuto’s shoulders and pushing him down, hovering over him. Yuto froze looking up at Ruri’s face, his eyes became softer.

Ruri bit her lips, her hair falling down past her shoulder. She was shaking. Yuto’s hand raised and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. 

“Ruri,” Yuto whispered softly, and placed his hands on Ruri’s shoulder gently pushing her back. 

Ruri looked sad and unsure. “W...what’s wrong? Don’t you want me, Yuto? I thought--”

“No, Ruri, that’s not it,” Yuto said softly before removing the cape he wore and wrapped it around her shoulders covering her completely. 

Ruri looked a little surprised as she held into the cape covering her like a blanket, her lips started trembling. “Y-Yuto…” She whispered. 

Yuto looked at her. Ruri looked so small and vulnerable and he knew why. His heart was filled with pain, anger and love. Pain at what Ruri looked like, anger at the people who hurt her, and love and happiness at finally seeing her, even if she was like this. 

Yuto gathered Ruri into his arms, tears falling down as he hugged her tightly. Ruri sucked in a breath and hugged Yuto closer as she started crying and sobbing.

“I’m...I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I… I saw you and Shun together, and I didn’t know what to think and then Rin told me about this dream thing with Yugo and I thought...I thought I should. I’ve just...I feel so _ different _ than what I used to be. I feel like I don’t know myself anymore! I’m so angry, Yuto! I’m trapped in a cage and I just want to hurt people over and over. I didn’t know what to do. I just wanted you to stay with me. I wanted _ something _. I wanted to be happy again,” Ruri cried and babbled and sobbed as Yuto held her in his arms and ran his hand through her hair comforting her. 

“I’m sorry, Ruri, I’m so sorry,” he said kissing her forehead. “I want to be reunited with you. I wanna see you. I’m so scared, so scared that if Shun and I aren’t by your side that you will stay in constant danger.”

“It’s not fair…” Ruri said. “I was so shocked to see how close you were with Shun and…” Tears well in her eyes.

“I’m...I’m sorry, Ruri, I am, I just...I was so scared, I lost you, I couldn’t protect you or help you in any way, and Shun...Shun was in a bad place, he misses you. He’s so worried about you, he kept getting himself in fights, he… he carded people, he dueled duelists that used Fusion in Standard and carded them, I…I did what I could, neither of us was in a good place and I couldn’t… I couldn’t bear the thought of losing either of you...my treasures,” he whispered, hugging Ruri tighter to him. 

“I still...am confused and surprised and...scared…” Ruri said, looking at her bracelet before looking back at Yuto. “You’re a dragon… a dragon prince and it’s just...so hard for me to wrap my head around that. And around the fact that… I’m...I used to be a power source, a card, and my deck is just a reflection of what I once was..And I don’t...I don’t know what your Father wants. I mean, I’m grateful for these powers but...they scare me Yuto. Like making a deal with the devil, it always...always ends up badly, and I’m scared. I don’t want to be alone tortured for eternity, Yuto. Please! Please….please, I’m changing, and I don’t know how far that will go... I don’t know if I like it or not, I’m so scared!” Ruri sobbed, hugging herself tighter.

“Ruri,” Yuto said, placing his hands on her shoulders before rubbing her arms in comfort. “Whatever you used to be, you are Ruri now. A beautiful, kind and sweet girl that went through much. Father gave you these powers because you deserve them, so that you can protect yourself from what the professor could do. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. If you’re scared to use these powers, you’re not required to use them, but they are there when you need them. It’s okay to be scared and confused, you’re not alone anymore. We’ll be there to help you soon, and now you can protect yourself or run. I just want you safe. Both Shun and I do.” 

“But what about your Father? Am I...am I really going to be tortured by him for eternity?”

“My Father is _ not _the devil, Ruri,” Yuto said, not knowing if he wants to laugh or groan. Honestly, he should be glad Ruri hasn’t watched any of Yoko’s horror collection. “He’s not some fairytale monster that’s gonna screw you over for his own amusement. You’re someone I love, he will not lay a hand on you, he’s never going to hurt you, I promise.”

Ruri looked down, still unsure.

“What?” Yuto asked, tilting his head. 

“Your father is… a little scary…” Ruri admitted.

“Scary?” 

“Well...not scary...just ...I mean, how would you feel if some gorgeous man that looks almost exactly like your best friend arrives in a pretty garden and gives you your heart’s desire? I mean...it sounds too good to be true. After everything I went through... After everything we’ve learned, stories we read, too good to be true usually is. How he appeared in out time of need is beat for beat the devil came to seduce the innocent down on her luck desperate girl and tempts her with her dreams, and I know I shouldn’t be this ungrateful but I’m just so scared and can’t help but overthink everything I’ve been through. I...I made a contract with him...how does that _ not _sound like I screwed myself over?” 

Yuto wasn’t sure at this point to mention to Ruri that this is exactly how Yoko would be thinking over this deal with the devil thing.

“I mean what were even the terms of this contract, do you know? I don’t...I really don’t mean to be this grateful especially after he helped us _ not _get mind controlled by these disgusting bugs, but it’s like I’m out of the frying pan and into the dragonfire!” 

“So...you don’t trust father?” Yuto asked.

“Everything about the way he met us and how it went just seemed...sinister would be an apt word. I don’t know him, I don’t know what he wants, and this change in me is scary, and I don’t know if it’s what I’ve been through or if it’s a piece of darkness he left in me. I just can’t get these thoughts out of my head!” Ruri whimpers. 

“Ruri, listen to me,” said Yuto. “Father is the Supreme King of Darkness but he means well. He only wants to keep you safe. If you can’t trust him, can you at least trust me?”

“I do trust you, and I want to trust him, he… he saved Rin and I, but it’s scary, like...like being seduced into bad actions. There’s a high, a rush of power but contractors end up regretting it; every story about these kinds of deals end the same. I don’t wanna lose who I am to this power,” she admitted, the ribbon-like marks on her arm glowed as she showed them to Yuto.

Yuto took Ruri’s hand in his before kissing it gently. “Ruri...look at me.”

The glowing ribbon of the contract tingled on her arm from the kiss, making Ruri flush softly, the gem on her bracelet glowed softly. “Why did it…?”

“It’s reacting to me, to us,” Yuto answered.

“W-what do you mean?” Ruri asked 

Yuto rubbed Ruri’s hand lovingly before tracing the glowing marks on Ruri’s arm, making a shiver run down her spine. “Ruri, there is no intent to harm you, just protect you. This isn’t a deal with the devil, it’s an... equivalent exchange. You work for Father, for the same goal as him and you are gifted with this power.”

“And if...the contract is broken?”

“Depends, but it’s mostly you just lose your powers. But we want the same thing Ruri, to beat Akaba, to rescue you and Rin, keep you safe, the contract wasn’t made for a sinister purpose, it was made out of necessity.” 

Ruri licked her lips. 

“Shouldn’t the fact that you’re questioning all of this put you at ease? We had to fight to protect each other, consider these powers a weapon, you’re not commiting a sin, you’re just doing what’s necessary for you, they’re a gift from us.”

“I...I guess…”

“You can do whatever you want with these powers Ruri. For yourself, for Heartland. So the professor would pay for what he did to us, what he did to you.” Yuto placed his hand on Ruri’s cheek, “I couldn’t bear the idea of you being hurt. When Yuri told me what that Doktor was going to do to you….I felt horrible, I was infuriated. I wasn’t there to help you at all, and that old bracelet was useless. It couldn’t even protect you from a speck of dust. Father came up with this idea, so that you’ll be protected and safe. Darkness is always overwhelming, and had you simply received these powers from their source without a conduite, you could have truly lost yourself or gone insai. The contract with Father was necessary for your protection, as I said, an equivalent exchange. Loyalty for power.” 

“A conduite...Rin used that word too,” Ruri mutters. “That’s...never how it works in fairy tales.”

“The girls in the fairy tales usually have to rely on someone _ else _ to do the dirty work for them,” Yuto replies. “The princess rarely actually has to do anything; instead she’ll have some magical aid or some animals to do the work for her. But you were gifted with these powers, they’re not just in the bracelet, they’re yours, and because you weren’t born with these powers you needed a source -- that source is Father and the darkness itself.”

“But princesses and maidens never use darkness. Only witches do!” 

“Yes, even so the power is yours, Ruri. You’re not some helpless maiden, you never wanted to be. You’re a warrior and magic is your weapon. You’re no helpless passive princess. Not even when you were stuck in the towers, you took charge and ran away, because you’re not waiting for someone to rescue you. So treat these powers as another tool to get what you want.”

“....”

“Ruri?”

“Okay,” Ruri said. “I’m not going to wait for someone to save me. I have to save myself.”

Yuto nodded. “You never have to be afraid ever again.” 

Ruri nodded, her shoulders relaxing a bit, and gave Yuto a soft smile. 

“Are you and Rin okay, Ruri? You’re not hurt are you?” Yuto asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“We’re okay, we’re stretching our acting ability for sure, but we’re mostly fine. Yuri is scary good at acting though; most of his demeanor in front of Akaba is so convincing it has us kind of questioning ourselves sometimes.” 

“At least you three are okay,” Yuto said. He then took a good look at what Ruri wore, not sure where or how she would even come up with this attire. I mean, she in a ballroom gown was enough. But this? “You look so uncomfortable in what you’re wearing, Ruri.”

Ruri looked down at what she was wearing, and she looked down with red cheeks. “I...I thought you’d like it, don’t you?” She asked timidly. 

Yuto smiled softly. “Well yeah, you look...stunning is one way to describe it, but you really don’t seem to like it at all.” 

Ruri swallowed. “W-well, _ you _ don’t seem to mind Shun _ naked _….”

“Oh, why did Father show you that?” Yuto groaned, knowing he was never going to hear the end of this. He honestly didn’t want to know how Rin reacted. “I don’t mind,” he said with red cheeks “But you really don’t look comfortable with yourself like that. I don’t want you to be nervous or scared Ruri.”

“Compared to how you made Shun your…”

“I’m sorry. I really wanted him safe. Shun was getting out of control, becoming the same monster Academia was. He kept carding people, Ruri, innocent people, just to get Reiji Akaba’s attention. And...I did want him by my side, I was scared of how he’ll react if he knew the truth about me point blank. He’s come to accept it.”

“Accept it?”

“Accept ...what I am. And what my family truly is.”

“And how he keeps calling you his ‘prince’?

“It’s because I _ am _his prince,” Yuto answered. 

“I don’t know what to feel about this. I mean, he was fine with the two of us being a couple and it feels wrong to have him become part of this.”

“It’s not wrong. I love you and Shun equally. Both of you are irreplaceable treasures. There’s nothing wrong with that, Ruri”. 

“It’s just...I don’t know how to react to this, or what to think. I mean, what about everyone in Heartland? Are they just going to accept us being a threesome or something so easily?”

Yuto squeezes her hand, the gem on her bracelet shines softly without Ruri noticing. “It’ll be okay, just trust us,” Yuto said, smiling as a dark aura surrounded Ruri as he leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips.

Ruri blinked a few times and nodded her head, feeling her worry and anxiety fade away. Yuto smiled and placed another kiss on her lips. Yuto stood up. “Come with me,” he said, extending his hand. 

“Where?” Ruri asked. 

Yuto smiled and whispered “You’ll see.”

Ruri hesitated for a moment before nodding and taking Yuto’s hand as he helped her stand up. Yuto smiled wider and led Ruri into the castle. 

As the two of them walked into the castle a shadow in the trees watched them go, its tail sweeping in the air in amusement and intrigue. 

…

…

…

Ruri’s was breathless as she saw the inside of the castle, she did expect luxury and riches, just not as much as this. She didn’t expect the halls themselves to sparkle as if painted with shimmers of gold, nor the windows decorated with colored glass. She wasn’t sure how to react to any of this except to look at it in amazement. 

A picture was worth a thousand words, but what she saw was something that no painter could possibly replicate.

Yuto led her to a door down the hall. He opened it and Ruri couldn’t believe her eyes. As if they could widen even more, she was in the large room filled with beautiful dresses, suits and fabrics everywhere, and a...a catwalk? Inside a room? She knew she was dreaming but are these things actually in the castle? 

“Welcome,” said Carly, approaching Ruri from behind with her hands on Ruri’s shoulders. “Oh, are you Yuto’s treasure?”

“Uh..um…” Ruri stammered still not registering what’s around her. 

Yuto laughed softly. “Yes she is one of my precious treasures, and I wish to show her a nice night. She has been through a lot lately, and I don’t think she’s comfortable with what she wore."

Carly took a good look at the coat covering Ruri before slowly peeling the coat off like the layers of an onion. She then stared at the very...skimpy attire Ruri wore, dropping the coat onto the floor in surprise. Ruri couldn’t look at Carly and simply averted her gaze, her cheeks red as she attempted futilely to cover more of herself with her hands. 

“This dress is so…adult!” Carly said, hastily grabbing the coat to cover Ruri again. “No, this isn’t for you. You certainly don’t seem to enjoy wearing such a thing. My partner and I will get you something more your age. Misty! Are you in here?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming, “ Misty’s voice said from some distant corner of the fashion room. “I just need to finish working on some repairs.”

Carly nodded her head before looking at Ruri’s blushing face. “Why did you decide to wear something like this anyway?” 

“W...well,” Ruri said. “Um, I just wanted to...impress Yuto...after everything I heard about Shun, and Rin going into Yugo’s dreams with her own black dress I just thought that...I had to,” Ruri explained, still blushing and looking away.

“Ah, I see…” Carly said as Misty approached from her business, looking elegant in her black dress with green trim.

“Please leave my prince. We’ll take care of her, we promise,” Misty said. 

“Ruri? Are you okay with me leaving?” Yuto asked. 

Ruri looked at the two women before looking back at Yuto, then back at the other two. “Y-yeah… just stay at the door okay?” Ruri requested.

“I will,” said Yuto, approaching the door. 

Ruri gave him a soft smile as she waited for him to exit the door before turning back to the two other women in the room. 

“Now then,” Misty said. “What would you like to wear, and which color? Lady Ray decided on black for the ball, but what would you prefer? Hmm, what colors suit you?” 

“L...Lady Ray? Ray Akaba?” Ruri whispered in fear. The same woman who was the _ reason _ everything happened? 

“Yes,” Carly nodded. “She hated the atrocious actions her father has committed and did not condone them at all. After a talk with King Zarc on the behest of your counterpart Yuzu, she and the king made a truce and agreed to work together to destroy her Father’s false kingdom.” 

“Yuzu…” Ruri whispered. The only counterpart she knew was Rin and there was also the one that was from Fusion. “Um, what is Yuzu like?”

“Yuzu is quite the sweet girl,” Misty said. “Kaiba, Joey and Mokuba, some of the Dragon Vassals that reside here, told us how much of a caring sweet person she is, and how she would stand up against people that would hurt others and she wants to help those who need her.”

“And the Fusion one?” Ruri asked. She didn’t know if the one from Academia was like all of the other students in the dimension, or if she was exactly like Yuri. Sick, twisted, demented, loving to see their opponents squirm beneath their feet.

“From what the others observed, the girl, Serena, seemed sheltered,” Carly brought up. “She never had a friend in her life and only wanted to show her worth to Akaba who treated her like a delicate china doll and placed her on a shelf. With Prince Yuto opening her eyes and telling her what happened in Heartland, she decided to help the Lancers fight Academia. Lord Zarc later told her the truth about Akaba’s plans for all of you and gave her a powerful dragon to be her aid in battle. When Yuzu decided to befriend Serena the other girl began to open up and show quite the adorable side to herself, she now considers Yuzu and her father her family.” 

Ruri wasn’t sure how to feel about any of this, but she did not feel dread, fear or distrust. She wants to judge her own counterparts herself, but at least the two women put her mind at ease that they have more people on her side.

“So...what about the boy with Yuzu?” Ruri brought up. She knew about Yugo from Rin and Yuri how he chased after her, but nothing about the third counterpart.

“Oh you mean, Prince Yuya?” 

“Yuya…” Ruri repeated.

“Prince Yuya is the youngest of his brothers, and he was raised in a loving family in this timeline. He is very sweet and loving and wants people to have fun while dueling, but from what we heard, he does have a dark hidden side, and he has been through a lot of negativity and bullying from people before Lord Zarc and his old memories were awakened,” Misty explained. “Yuzu is one of his best friends, and he would do anything for her.” 

“He uses a cool deck called ‘Performapal’!” Carly added. “They’re monsters that look like they want to perform on stage, it’s themed around a circus of cute looking animals and magicians! He also uses a new summoning method called ‘Pendulum Summoning’. Slowly but surely Yuya has already mastered Fusion and Xyz Summoning but still keeps his desire to bring people together.”

“I see…” Ruri said. It reminded her of someone who taught her that...

“Come now, we shouldn’t leave the Prince waiting more than he needs to, let's get you something to wear,” said Misty. “Now what color would you like? Would like long or short sleeves?

“Um...short I guess,” Ruri said.

“Hmm…” Misty hummed, looking at the purple locks on Ruri’s hair. “Right, I think I know a good color on you, come on.” 

She led Ruri and Carly further inside, past the runway and into the backstage area where more dresses were hung on a rack and on various mannequins. before she produced a dress with a strapless dark purple bodice embroidered with white crystals with the shape of roses, and long flowing skirt. And purple Opera gloves. 

Ruri gasped at the dress as she extended her hand to it, feeling the soft fabric between her hands. She hadn’t seen a dress like this in a long time. If there were any dresses left around in Heartland, well that’d be like finding snow in August.

The two women helped Ruri out of the current ‘dress’ she wore (really leftover clothes she was able to find to make it easy to run or fight off Obelisk Force soldiers; a dress didn’t easily translate into ‘Resistance’) and into the one Misty had. Carly tied the ribbons of the corset as Misty brought her matching purple heels. Before sitting her down and began doing her hair. 

Carly helped comb Ruri’s hair before pulling it up into an elegant bun, held together by two long black hair sticks that ended with white lilies and a chain of silver beads. She also had white diamond topped hair clips, with her purple locks free to fall down and frame her face, and finally a tiara with purple gemstones. 

Misty worked on Ruri’s make up, with black eyeshadow with a subtle purple highlight, and black lipstick with a subtle blush over her cheeks. Ruri was utterly silent at the slow transformation put upon her. She honestly dreamt of one day having a makeover at the mall with Sayaka to surprise Yuto...but this was completely different. This was the work of artists.

After she was done, Misty and Carly dragged her to a large mirror. Ruri stared at her reflection; she had been stuck in her old outfit for so long that she couldn’t remember what it looked like to be so dressed up.

“This is...all of this is…” Ruri placed her hand onto the mirror before it curled into a shaking fist. “I...all...all of this...for me? I...I...”

“You look absolutely stunning,” Carly said, clapping her hands together. 

“Yes, Prince Yuto will not be able to take his eyes off of you,” Misty added.

“But I...this is...this is too much…” Ruri whispered. 

“Nothing is too much,” Misty reassured her, helping Ruri stand up. “Anything for your happiness, Lady Ruri. You deserve it. You did so much to take care of your brother and Yuto, but did you ever have time to care for yourself?”

“...” Ruri raised her skirt and turned to the older women. “Th-thank you…” she said with a curtsy. 

“You’re welcome,” Carly said, somehow producing a goblet with a clear liquid for Ruri to drink. “Come now, Prince Yuto is waiting.”

Ruri nodded, still a little overwhelmed with all of this and didn’t know whether or not to accept the drink. She knew how this went; the drink was laced with poison and one sip meant she’d fall asleep. And besides, she didn’t want to sleep just yet.

She opened the door and found Yuto still waiting for her. The moment Yuto saw her, his eyes widened, his breath hitched, and his lips parted. Ruri in that first outfit was stunning, but in this dress, she was _ radiant _. 

“Well,” Ruri said as Yuto’s eyes darkened a bit, and he swallowed, her own heart was hammering in her chest as well. She spun around giving Yuto a look. “What do you think?” she asked playfully, biting her lips and giving him a coy smile. 

It was a good thing that Ruri couldn’t read Yuto’s mind, else she would’ve heard something on the lines of…

_ Mineminemine...pretty pretty treasure is mine. So soft, so pretty so beautiful...must have her must have her must have her! _

Carly and Misty giggled, seeing how Yuto was doing everything he could _ not _ to take Ruri into his arms, exposing his dragon features for her. 

“You look…” Yuto was finally able to say, albeit breathlessly. “Absolutely gorgeous, radiant, stunning,” his eyes turned into slits for a split second as he licked his now dry lips. 

“Thank you…” Ruri answered.

Yuto extended his hand to her, a smile radiating on his lips. “Come, come with me to the ballroom. I want you to have the night of your dreams, Ruri. I promise it won’t be the last.”

Ruri shyly extended her hand to his and Yuto kissed it softly. Ruri blushed and nodded. She followed Yuto into a big room decorated with 

The music started playing, making Ruri smile wider and relax more in Yuto’s arms. “As silly as I’m going to sound stupid but this just feels like a dream, like...like it will never come true,” Ruri whispered sadly, and Yuto smiled as he started leading the dance. There were numerous figures with dragon wings and dresses like witches, staring at the two lovers.

“It will. I’ll give you anything you need and desire, my love, my treasure, you will need for nothing. I will give you what you want, take you into my arms and hold you close. You will never run away from me again, my love, my pretty nightingale."

Ruri licked her lips as the dance continued, not sure how to react when he noticed how intense Yuto was. Especially in his glare. 

“I’ve never seen that look in your eyes before,” Ruri said. 

“What look?” Yuto asked. 

“Hunger...like you want to devour me,” Ruri whispered, blushing, not meeting Yuto’s eyes. 

“Am I scaring you? You just look so beautiful, and I’ve missed you so much. I was so worried I’ll never see you again. And now here you are, in my arms, where I want you to always stay as mine. Mineminemine….” 

“You’re acting different, really different, you’ve never been this...forward before, it’s a little overwhelming,” Ruri answered a little breathless. 

Yuto presses Ruri closer to him, resting his chin on her shoulder, making Ruri shiver and blush. “Nothing wrong with that, I just know what I want,” Yuto said, kissing her bare shoulder, making her gasp. 

“Do you want me to stop?” Yuto asked, whispering in her ear. Ruri shivered and shook her head 

“N-no,” Ruri stammered. “I’m just...surprised, that’s all.”

Yuto placed another kiss on Ruri’s shoulder as they continued to dance, and Ruri soon began to lose all sense of time. From the corner of her eyes she could see someone sitting on one of the thrones looking at the two of them dancing’ when she tried to see who it was they were gone. 

Yuto leaned forwards and kissed Ruri’s lips. Ruri closed her eyes and kissed him back. It didn’t matter now. All that mattered was her and Yuto until the dream ended or a clock struck midnight. But she hoped the dream lasted a little bit longer. 

“Is there anything that you wish? Anything you desire?” Yuto asked against her lips, brushing his thumb against the bare part of her back.

Ruri’s breath hitched, her heart beating too fast, her cheeks flushed, not sure how to respond. Ruri’s eyes shift from Yuto’s eyes to his lips and back up again.

“This feels so heady I...I just want us back together, you, me, and Shun back home, back safe, I just want everything to be over, for us to be happy again.”

Yuto smiled softly and hugged Ruri tightly. “Well, there is someone who wants to see you as much as I did,” Yuto said and Ruri looked confused before Yuto looked to the side, and Ruri’s eyes followed his. Ruri’s eyes widened as she saw Shun standing there, decked out in his raven-based armor.

“S...shun?”

“Ruri…”

Ruri’s eyes filled with tears as she ran to her brother and hugged him tightly. Any thoughts other than embracing him just flew out of the window as she finally saw him there after all this time. 

“Shun…” she sobbed. ”Shun, I missed you so much. I’ve been so alone, and afraid, and hurt...Professor Akaba and all of Academia awful, and I was so worried about everyone! I kept running away, but they kept grabbing me, forcing me to duel, _ laughing _ at me, even electrocuting me. They treat me like some sort of animal in the circus, performing for me so I get even the most simple of luxuries. They don’t care that I’m hurt, or scared or lonely. All they want is to see me like I’m an ant to be stepped on or fried with a magnifying glass!”

Shun hugged Ruri tightly, tears falling down his cheeks as his sister told him of what happened to her in Academia. “I’m so sorry, so sorry you were taken, so sorry I wasn’t there for you Ruri. I wish...I wish you were actually free.”

“I was so scared, and angry and worried, it felt like I would break any second now.”

“Ruri…” Shun said wanting to head to Academia and take back his sister, everyone else be damned. Shun hugged Ruri closer as she kept sobbing into his chest. 

Yuto came closer and rubbed Ruri’s back. “It’s gonna be okay now, you’re not alone anymore Ruri, you’ll never be.”

Ruri nodded and pulled Yuto into the hug. “I’m so happy that you’re here...you don’t know how much I wanted to see you two again.”

“We were so worried about you, Ruri,” Shun said hugging Ruri and Yuto to him. “Can you tell us what happened to you?”

Ruri nodded and summarized her time in Academia. And with each and every word she said, it took all of Shun and Yuto’s willpower to not suddenly cause a storm within the ballroom. 

“We’re safe now, as safe as we could be. Akaba thinks we’re fully under his control, and isn’t suspicious about Yuri at all,” Ruri finished. 

Shun let a breath out and Yuto kissed the top of her head, rubbing her arm. “Tell Yuri next time that he’s done such a good job. Yuri loves being praised.”

Ruri raised her eyebrow. “I… hardly think my praise means anything to him but...that’s a useful thing to know.” she said, tabbing her chin in thought. “I think he deserves to at least be teased for kidnapping Rin and I after all, any advice?” 

Yuto snickered and Shun looked nervous.

“Hmm? What?” asked Ruri. 

“Oh, I know just the thing,” Yuto said with a wicked grin. “I mean, Yuya also wants Yuri to pay for that little stunt with Reiji.”

“Stunt with Reiji?” Ruri asked and saw Shun blush. “Do I wanna know?” 

“Not particularly,” Yuto said. “But yes, praising him, as long as you don’t sound condescending, will make him purr like a kitten. Especially if it’s Father and he’s being patted on the head.” 

Ruri blushed, trying to imagine Yuri with purple cat ears and a tail, purring when someone patted his head, nuzzling someone’s leg or even deciding to sit on someone’s lap. _ Nya~ _That kitty Yuri said with a grin like a Cheshire puss.

“Oh, there’s also this place between our shoulder blades,” Yuto continued. “It’ll make him melt like a puddle of ice cream.”

“Uh...you mean...like this?” asked Ruri, turning Yuto around and slowly placed a finger between his shoulder blades.

Yuto whimpered, shoulders shaking, before he started purring, black dragon fins and a few scales appearing over his face. His long serpentine tail was wagging happily as Ruri suddenly retracted her hand as if she had been hit with static electricity. 

“...I think you broke him, sis,” Shun said.

“That...I did not expect that,” Ruri whispered, a little shocked.

Yuto whimpered in disappointment, his tail wrapping itself around Ruri’s waist. Yuto blinked a few times, his face flushed. 

“If this is anything to go by, your brother will _ murder _me just for getting that close,” Ruri said.

“He won’t muder you. He promised us he’ll protect you no matter what. Besides he deserves a _ little _humiliation after what he did, and if it’s just in front of you and Yugo’s treasure it’ll be fine.” Yuto answered.

“If you say so Yuto…” 

“Is there anything you wish to know?”

“A lot actually,” Ruri said. “I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“Well, ask the first thing that comes to mind,” Yuto said. “Come on, let's go somewhere more comfortable to talk,” Yuto said, leading both of them out. Shun and Ruri nodded and followed him with Ruri thinking of questions she wanted to ask. 

Minutes later, Ruri and Shun were led to Yuto’s bedroom. Yuto opened the door and let them both in before closing the door behind them, finally having some alone time with his precious treasures. 

***************

The next morning had everyone shower, have a light breakfast, say goodbye to the pets, and head off into Yoko’s car -- Yugo would settle on his D-Wheel -- to drive them into the LDS building (Gongenzaka decided to sleep over so it’d be easy to travel). Yoko used her cellphone to have a few Facechat conversations with Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya, the three kids wishing everyone on their journey to stop Academia. Mieru also called Yuya, hoping her darling got her tarot reading -- he hadn’t -- and warned him to be careful of “unexpected visitors” in his quest...whatever that meant.

With everything settled, everyone entered Yoko’s van, trying to understand that this is the last chance of peace and quiet before they’re thrust into another dimension. Yuto squeezed Shun’s hand, Yuya placed his hand on Yugo’s shoulder, Yuzu hugged Serena close and Gongenzaka just watched with a soft smile on his face. They were ready. They were prepared for the war.

But just as Yoko was about to pull the car out of the garage, there was a very loud scream of,

“WAIT!!!!!!!”

Yuzu knew who was screaming that and wasn’t so surprised to find her father rushing to the car about to collapse. 

“Dad?” she asked, leaving the car to see Shuzo on his knees, panting for breath, close to coughing. “What are you doing?”

“I spent all of last night getting this ready for you two,” said Shuzo. “First off Yuzu, you left your...er...necklace back with me.”

Yuzu looked to see the silk bag with her/Ray’s pendant with the dragon and five gemstones on it in one hand. In his other hand was a white paper bag.

“And...what’s the other one?” she asked.

“It’s for Serena,” Shuzo answered, seeing Serena leave the car. Serena’s only outfit was just a simple white shirt and khaki pants. “It’s gonna get cold and I thought she’d like this.”

“For...me?” asked Serena, seeing the paper bag. She pulled out the item and looked in shock. It was a bright red jacket but the sleeves were covered in orange strips of fabric like fire. On the pocket of the jacket was a little yellow crescent patch like the moon.

“It was one I was going to give to Yuzu, but I felt like it would fit you better,” Shuzo said. “I mean, Yuzu said you used to wear a red jacket like that with pride and...Serena...are you...crying?” 

Serena, with tears in her eyes, ran to Shuzo and hugged him tightly. “Th-thank you,” she looked up at Shuzo with a teary smile. “No one ever did this for me! I’ll...I’ll cherish it forever,” she promised, hugging Shuzo tighter. 

Shuzo smiled and hugged her back just as tightly. Yuzu came closer smiling hugging both of them. “I’m proud of you both,” he said. “I know you’ll do your best, you both have such fiery spirits, go and give it to them!”

“We promise,” said Yuzu, taking the silk purse out of her father’s hand. With great care, she opened it, pulled out the necklace and gently clasped it around her neck. It didn’t have any power in it, but still it felt like it would protect her all the same.

“Keep them safe, Yoko!” said Shuzo, waving to the van. “If not, I will come after you and kick your ass if need be!”

Yoko smirked. “You got it,” she said. “Just make sure to take care of yourself first!”. 

Everyone waved goodbye at Shuzo and got into the car. Shuzo just watched the car head off to the distance with a sigh.

“Good luck,” he whispered, a tear falling down his eye.

…

…

…

  
  


In Reij’s office, Tsukikage, Dennis and Shingo were already waiting when Yoko kicked the door open. Reira whimpered and hugged her bear tighter at the loud noise. Reiji just raised his eyebrow.

“We’re here,” said Yoko with a smirk, hands on her hips, Yuya, Yuto along with, Yuzu Serena and Gongenzaka entered. “So, where’s our great leader?”

“Haaa?” Shingo and Dennis asked. “You’re joining us?”

“No, I’m just here for the food,” Yoko said sarcastically. “Of course I’m joining you guys!”

“That’s news to me,” Shingo said. 

“She is,” Reiji said. “Yuya and his brothers vouched for her, and I don’t see why not.”

“Does she even have the dueling skills to stop these soldiers?” Shingo asked. “I mean, we don’t want someone like her dragging us, particularly me, down.”

“Yoko-san has defeated me in a duel, so I do believe that she is capable of holding her own,” Gongenzaka answered

“Well that’s just _ one _ person,” Shingo replied. “I mean, is her cute little deck going to stop against the tough Ancient Gears?”

“Cute monsters?!” Yuzu repeated. “Uh, have you even seen her deck?”

“He will when we get to Synchro,” Yoko said. “But let’s just say my monsters aren’t made of sugar, spice and everything nice.”

“Enough Shingo,” said Reiji. “It’s not your decision to make, she is coming whether you like it or not.”

“Ugh, as if I need _ more _ people from You Show hounding on my nerves,” Shingo replied. “I can’t possibly duel with such _ pressure _ on my shoulders.”

“You couldn’t possibly duel your way out of a paper bag,” Shun muttered.

Yoko then turned her gaze to Dennis. On normal occasions, she’d be gushing at how handsome he is and how his duel style was so captivating. Now she was close to hitting him across the head about...well, about a lot of things. 

“If we’re all ready,” Reiji said motioning for Reira to come down, who climbed down the stairs carefully.

“Wait,” said Shingo. “Reira’s coming with us too?”

“She is,” Reiji answered. “Her skills in dueling will be helpful in our cause.”

“And on the off-hand chance we’re all separated?” Dennis asked. “Synchro Dimension is a pretty big place and dueling does not necessarily mean survival skills.”

“Tsukikage will be in charge of looking after and protecting Reira. He can adapt to any place and be as discreet as he needs to be.”

“Let’s just hope she doesn’t decide to run away from you,” Yoko remarked.

Reiji patted Reira’s head, and she smiled up at her brother. “Now then, each of you will take a wrist band, press these buttons here, and you’ll be teleported to the Synchro dimension.” He explained, motioning to the wristbands on his desk.

“And are you sure these are safe?” asked Dennis.

“My scientists studied Shun and Yuto’s duel disks,” Reiji explained before tossing the duel disks back to Shun and Yuto. “And we used that to create a basis for the wrist bands you see before you.”

“Okay then...if you say so.”

“We’re heading off to the Synchro Dimension in the hopes of finding allies to join our cause,” Reiji looked around. “Where is Yugo?”

“He’s outside,” said Yuto. “Couldn’t carry his D-Wheel to the top floor and he said that he’s capable of teleporting through it. Don’t worry, he knows the plan.”

“Interesting,” said Reiji. “Anyway, Yuya has told me that the Synchro Dimension is not going to take us strangers kindly. The security force there will try to apprehend us immediately without question and the dividing classes aren’t going to believe our story of the Interdimensional War either.”

“Ah, they’re going to be a cinch,” Shingo said, fanning out his Pendulum cards. “I’ll make quick work of them or my name isn’t Neo-Sawatari!”

Yuya groaned; even he was never that boastful about having Pendulum monsters.

“There is, however, a way we can get their attention,” Reiji continued. “There is a tournament known as The Friendship Cup where duelists will battle in order to become the King or Queen. Even if none of us obtains that title, just showing off our decks that have different types of summoning should get their attention and hopefully rally people to our cause.”

“Splendid!” Shingo exclaimed. “A way to get people to notice how _ I’m _ going to save everyone and making me King? Oh this is the chance of a lifetime, don’t you agree?”

Reiji pinched the bridge of his nose. If Shingo interrupted one more time... “Shingo…”

“Yes?”

“Just answer this question: why exactly did I allow you to join us on this journey?”

“Because I demanded answers from you, because I have a deck that can be used against Obelisk Force and because if it weren’t for me, the ninja and cat girl here would’ve been carded? And besides, you _ need _all the numbers you can get.”

Reiji sighed and everyone else groaned. At some level, Shingo has a point. They do need all the duelists they could get.

“Alright then, everyone. Are we ready?” Reiji asked and everyone nodded. “Very well.” 

Everyone in the room strapped a wristband. Yuya closed his eyes, opening his connection to Yugo.

_ We’re about to head off. Get ready. _

Outside, Yugo smiled, preparing his D-Wheel and looking at Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. _ See you there. _

With a few clicks of the buttons, and a bright glow surrounding everyone, they were off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruri's "mature dress" was inspired by Queen La From the Disney cartoon "The Legend of Tarzan" and apparently she is a character from the original novels. (GPQ: And if you thought what Queen La wore in the show was bad, in the books she goes around completely naked!)
> 
> Ruri was so uncomfortable in this I legit got second hand embarrassment from it. (GPQ: On the bright side this is a nice subversion of a pure girl having to dress so slutty to get a guy's attention seeing as both her and Yuto are quite uncomfortable with the attire)
> 
> This is my Tumblr Page for anyone who wants to talk to me more, or ask question, or anything at all.
> 
> Thanks for all the support guys. We hope you liked this chapter and story.
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/azure-witch13


	21. Wind of Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! We're back...this toke less time than we expected... but anyway! Chapter 10, and no parts this time, just one relatively short chapter. But yeah Exam season is coming for me, and I might need a small break to gather the materials for this.
> 
> Now a few things, Rin and Ruri duel in this chapter and you realize how hard it is to do that because certain IDIOTS in Konami decided to give these girls only 5 cards for Rin and 6 Cards for Ruri, Ruri especially is frustrating AS HER MONSTER CAN FUCK YOU OVER AS ALL SHE NEEDS IS A GODDAMN POWERS OF THE GUARDIANS AND YOU'RE FUCKED IN ONE TURN! 
> 
> So special measures had to be taken and I made a few OC cards for Rin, which I am honestly proud of and like. 
> 
> Now Green Phantom Queen would like to give a few points 
> 
> One she is proud of me :) for writing my first duel on my own between Rin and the duelist coming and my OC cards, which I didn't use all of them in this chapter these are more to come. 
> 
> She is angry at the writers for overlooking a lot of things which makes for pet peeves and frustration all around. Such as where the hell Sora was staying while in Standard, where did he get the money. Oh and the fact that you can CRASH INTO A ROOF AND WALK AWAY WITHOUT A SCRATCH! 
> 
> Along with how Yusho's stupid decisions to go all on his own to confront an entire school of brainwashed kids in the day that he was supposed to duel in was stupid and he could have gone the day after the duel or told his family that he would have gone somewhere. 
> 
> It's not that we hate Yusho, it's that common sense is apparently unexisting in Yu-gi-oh Arc-V.
> 
> We also hope to make Alexis' character more important and give her more important duels. 
> 
> Sorry for the rant, we hope you enjoy this chapter and I might be taking a small break. We hope you like it please please leave comments, it makes us really happy and motivates us to write more

Academia Island was not remotely a quiet place. 

In fact with all the lessons, the drills and sargents around, not to mention the duels were a constant source of sound and it’s a miracle if anyone can rest with the cacophony going on. Each student and every member of personnel was devoted to one thing only: to follow Professor Akaba’s propaganda to invade other dimensions and card the citizens in the belief that when the dimensions are united, then the people who were sacrificed would be brought back.

While some of these people believed in the cause, others decided it would be “fun” to make it a game. See how many people a student could be carded in one go, and watch in glee as these people tried but failed to escape their fate. Others were relishing dueling any opposition and seeing how all Spell and Trap cards would be useless against the Ancient Gears. And the swarming strategy to fight 3 against 1 helped out a lot. Moreover considering the Obelisk force students are all playing with the same deck, it’s a constant support for their partners. “Strength in numbers” and all that.it reeked of weakness and how they were incapable of fighting man-to-man. 

Zane Trusdale, or as he is known to the students Hell Kaizer, of course, understood the strategy. It made conquering the dimensions faster, but he still personally didn’t like it. It promoted weakness, and if the Obelisk Force members were separated, they might have a decent chance to win he supposed, but against someone with a good deck they would be helpless.

He himself never had to deal with it -- because he didn’t use Ancient Gears and he was strong enough to fight  _ three _ Academia students at once after all. it just never set well with Zane at all. It always made him, and deep down his Cyber Dragons, detest the cowardice and the smearing of Obelisk’s name.. 

However, recently Academia seemed to be in chaos, mostly thanks to the two prisoners that were retrieved by Yuri. 

The blue haired boy reflected on these facts as he walked through the halls of his school. The two prisoners; two 14 year old girls that have the same face. They seemed to be creating a lot of chaos around, especially with them continuously running away. 

Zane had no idea why the two of them were so important. Why not card them or kill them? It certainly didn’t make sense to keep them as they are, practically free. It only led to one conclusion, which is that The Professor has big plans for these girls. But what could they be? What could two girls with the same face as Serena, the designated “Academia Princess” have that was so important to waste resources on? 

The blue haired boy was lost in thought with these questions until he heard a familiar voice calling him. 

“Yo! Zane!” A familiar voice called to him, coming from the only person in the school who was able to break through Zane’s icy exterior.

“Hm?” Zane turned around and smiled at the boy who called his name. A boy with long brown hair that reached past his shoulders, brown eyes and a soft smile. Zane smiled back at him. 

“Atticus,” Zane greeted.

“Just wondering where you went,” said Atticus. “Come on, let’s go take a break somewhere nice and quiet.”

“Sure,” Zane nodded in agreement 

The brown haired boy walked towards Zane and they headed outside. The two of them found a spot away from other people, who knew better than to disturb them. Zane and Atticus were the best of the best in Academia, two of the four strongest duelists, with the other two being Yuri and Aster Phoenix, so there was little to no chance of the two of them being disturbed. But due to their good looks and closeness, most of the students pondered if they were in some sort of forbidden love.

(Of course no one was going to ask them about that since 1) relationships like that were forbidden and 2)  _ no one _ wanted to fight Zane and Atticus’s dragons.)

“So...what do you think of the Professor’s new project?” Zane asked, leaning against a tree and crossing his arms. 

“New project?” Atticus asked. 

“The girls who were taken from their dimension,” Zane clarified. 

“Oh those? I don’t really know myself, but poor them ya know? Taken from their homes like that.”

“What do you think the professor wants with them?”

“...Should you be questioning the Professor like that, Zane?” Atticus asked with a small frown, looking at his friend in worry. 

Zane sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. “I suppose I’m curious that’s all.”

Atticus placed his hand over Zane’s shoulder, the blue haired boy looked at his friend and saw a soft smile on his lips which Zane returned easily. 

“I hope Aster’s doing okay,” Zane said aloud. “I’ve heard that he’s been suffering through nightmares or sometimes he’s crying out for someone.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Zane looked up and saw a sparrow flying across the sky and sighed. “Well, I remember hearing him mutter something about a father in his sleep, crying and reaching out for this ‘Father’ to save him from ‘the Light’.”

“What do you think that means?” Atticus asked softly. 

Zane shrugged. “I’m not sure. Most of us are orphans -- we hardly, if at all, remember our parents. Aster is the same, but has always been plagued with nightmares like these.”

“And he’s never told anyone about this? Not even Sartorius?”

“No. In fact, Aster tends to avoid him for some reason.”

“I thought they were friends,” Atticus commented, both his eyebrows rising. 

“He prefers to be alone when these nightmares happen; I only caught these ramblings a few times. Most of the time I hear him mumbling about ‘Father’, ‘the Light’ or ‘brothers’. On one occasion, I caught him shivering in the corner of a classroom, hugging himself tightly but then he started scratching his back like mad. He spotted me and asked me to remove his shirt and question if there was anything on it. I found nothing, yet he kept insisting that there was  _ something  _ there and he started hyperventilating as he kept crying for these ‘brothers’ to hold him tight _ . _ He usually comes back to his senses and forgets he ever does it.”

“That is serious,” Atticus noted. “Oh, now that I think about it…”

“Yeah?”

Atticus pulled out a card from his deck and Zane raised an eyebrow at it. “Aster seems to be transfixed with my deck. Or rather, with Red Eyes Darkness Dragon. For someone with a Hero deck, he seems to really like dragons. When we first dueled and I summoned this dragon, he just...stared at it and smiled before shaking himself out of it. After that I caught him doing research of different dragons and...he just felt so intrigued at the cards Academia had. All these Fusion dragons, like Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon...but he never built a deck out of them.”

“Why not?”

Who knows?” Atticus said with a shrug.

“He’s in Heartland at the moment, do you think he’s doing okay?” Zane asked

“I hope so.” Atticus’ fingers brushed against Zane’s gently. The blue haired boy caught Atticus’ hand with his own and ran his thumb over the other boy’s palm. “I honestly hope that after all of this, we’ll finally be at peace.”

“Me too,” Zane said with a nod and squeezed Atticus’ hand. 

*************

Rin and Ruri stood side by side before the professor, who sat on his throne. Their eyes were dead, faces blank, looking at nothing in particular.

Yuri stood to the side, looking at the two girls with uninteresting eyes, and waited for the professor and Doktor to send them away. 

“The two of them are under your control professor, they are fully programed to be obedient, I assure you of that,” the Doktor 

“And you are quite sure that this...Parasite will not harm their minds and stop them from dueling?” Akaba asked, glancing at the Doktor.

“Yes, quite positive!” Doktor said gleefully, chuckling evilly. Goosebumps rose on Yuri, Ruri, and Rin’s arms, but they tried not to show it. 

Akaba hummed in thought before he seemed to have come towards a decision. “Very well, we shall test them then.”

“Test them?” Yuri asked, raising his eyebrow. “Against who?” He hoped it wasn’t him, for several reasons. One of them being he didn’t want to harm his brothers’ treasures, more than he already has. 

“I will find suitable openings for both of them. For now Yuri, keep an eye on them.”

“Wait,  _ me _ ? Why am  _ I  _ stuck babysitting them? Why not use students from the Obelisk Force?” Yuri asked.

Yuri, of course, would have prefered Akaba  _ not  _ to use the Obelisk Force to guard the two of them because then it would make protecting them and communicating with them harder on himself and the two girls. But Yuri was smart, and he knows how to keep up pretences. 

After all, keeping up a show relies on acting, and he certainly learned it from his Father; to keep up appearances for the crowd be they his court and subjects or the crowd in which he has to act for. It was a big gamble he knew, but it’s best if Akaba did not suspect him of anything. 

But for once Akaba’s stubborn and controlling attitude gave him a very nice out that would keep him in character. Thank the gods for small miracles. 

“Because it would be quite inconvenient. The fights at Standard where all of them lost, and you came back empty handed showed me that Obelisk Force needs more rigorous training, all of them do. And you can think of this as your punishment for failing to get Yuzu and Serena.”

“It won’t happen again, Professor,” Yuri said with a bow. 

“Yes it won’t,” The Professor agreed. “Because if it did, you can be sure that your usefulness will be done. But I won’t only give you a second chance, I will also provide you with assistance,” Yuri’s eyes didn’t leave the professor as the older man continued. “If the two of them prove themselves in this test, then they shall accompany you to retrieve the other two girls.”

Yuri placed his hand on his hip and smirked. “Well… it could be fun to see the look on my counterpart’s faces once they see how their girls’ loyalty has changed,” he laughed. “Oh yes, it would be quite interesting indeed.” He chuckled. “Well then ladies, you heard the professor, you work with me now.”

Both Rin and Ruri nodded, eyes still wide and empty, faces blank as if no thought of disobedience went through their minds...when in truth, both girls wanted to rip Akaba’s head off with their bare hands. 

But they had to wait, they had to. Aside from the army of Obelisk Forces outside that could overwhelm them, Lord Zarc had his own plans. And they had to stick with it until it was time to strike.

And when it was time to strike, oh these two were going to  _ relish _ in it.

Akaba clapped his hands twice and another student holding two boxes came closer to Rin and Ruri, in the boxes were a few extra Duel Monster cards. 

“These cards were specifically made for you both, in order to be able to use fusion,” Akaba said. 

Ruri’s hand shook as she tried not to lash out and punch or scratch someone in the room. She and Rin took the respective cards and looked at them. The girl with lilac locks wanted to scream at how unfair this was. She hated this, hated having to add Polymerization, this tool of destruction and terror into her own deck and she couldn’t even protest, couldn’t argue or yell or cry. She simply had to bear it. She couldn’t wait, she simply couldn’t  _ wait  _ until she could make these bastards pay. 

‘Cause they were all gonna pay. With their _fucking_ _lives_. 

Akaba nodded. “Yuri, take Ruri and Rin into the front of the Obelisk school dorms, they shall be tested there.” 

Yuri smirked. “As you wish, Professor. Come, Rin, Ruri,” Yuri commanded and the two girls robotically turned towards the commander and walked closer towards him. Yuri turned around as well and started walking out of the room. 

He led the way to the Obelisk Dorms and waited there with Rin and Ruri. Once he knew no one was tailing them, he turned back to them. “Are you two alright?” he asked softly.

“Yeah,” Ruri said and Rin nodded with a tired look on her face. 

“It’s just too much ya know, and the urge to rip the two bastards apart is too much,” Rin said closing her eyes shut and Ruri readily agreed. 

“Just keep it together a bit longer,” Yuri whispered. “Trust me, if there’s one thing I know about the Professor is that he has a bad case of tunnel vision. He’ll never notice anything is wrong as long as you play your parts.”

“Yeah,” Rin nodded softly while Ruri’s eyes narrowed as she looked down. Ruri closed her eyes for a moment, her hands shaking, she took a deep breath before opening her eyes again and nodding as well. She would do this. Show no signs of anger or hate for just a little bit longer. 

Fifteen minutes later, Akaba, Doktor, along with two other people arrived. One was Sora Shun’in, Yuri noted, but the other was someone new and Yuri blinked twice doing a double take. 

The other person was not wearing any Academia uniform. Instead he had on a long wihite sleeve shirt, a black vest and pants, along with a cowboy hat, and an orange sash around his neck, his eyes… or rather eye, was dark blue while the other was covered in bandages, and on his back he was carrying a...crocodile as if it was a baby. It was a student Yuri didn’t know well, but heard of and had seen a few times. Jim ‘Crocodile’ Cook. 

From Yuri’s observations, Jim was a gentleman and archaeologist first, duelist second. He was well-known for not being as vicious as the other Academia duelists in their battles and treated them like they were friends. The fact that his right eye was bandaged and he somehow had a crocodile strapped to his back added more to the mystery that he was known to be.

Rin and Ruri blinked at the strangers, not sure how to react to them., but for now they stayed still and waited for further instructions from Akaba. The thought made them want to throw up. Sora took a glance at Ruri then hung his head in shame, while Jim just approached the girls.

“Howdy!” Jim greeted with a genuine smile, tipping his hat to the three of them.

“This is Jim Cook and Sora Shun’in. You will be fighting them individually, and I want both of you to use Fusion in your duels,” Akaba stated. 

The girls blinked. “Yes professor,” they answered with a nod. 

“Rin is first, you will duel Jim Cook.” 

“Pleasure, Ma’am,” Jim said with a nod. Rin frowned; something was quite off about this boy.

“And Ruri will duel Sora.”

Ruri took a good look at Sora and it look like she was trying to make his head explode with the fury of her glare. Yuri knew exactly why she felt that way and honestly wanted to scare the living hell out of this boy too for hurting his brothers.  _ Especially _ Yuya.

Yuri’s hand trailed down his cheek remembering shun’s fists on his face, the way Ruri looked now reminded him so much of her brother, she looked like she was about to murder Sora with her bare hands herself. 

“Why Sora?” Yuri asked, doing his best not to reveal to Sora just how much he  _ knew _ about his sins. 

Akaba glared down at the blue haired boy. “He lost to an Xyz user twice, her brother.”

“Shun…” Ruri whispered, missing her brother.

“And ran away like a coward when two of your counterparts summoned some Xyz dragon monstrosity according to him.” Akaba then patted Sora’s shoulder, yet Sora slightly flinched at the touch. “But he can prove himself in this duel against Shun’s little sister; either she wins and crushes him or he wins and proves himself a good student.”

“And what happens if he loses to Ruri?” Jim asked, tilting his head and looking down at the little boy who looked like he needed a teddy bear to cuddle. 

“Then the consequences will be steep,” Akaba stated simply. 

“Why doesn’t Cook have the same restrictions?” Yuri asked. “Wouldn’t it be more interesting if both he and Rinrin over here each had something to worry about? It would certainly be more amusing to watch,” his smirk filled with false innocence. 

“There is,” Doktor said with a crazy chuckle. “You see Colonel Sanders suggested Jim himself, and put the condition that if the boy loses, he’ll have to duel the Battle Beast.” 

The crocodile growled at the Doktor, her pupils shifted into slits. The man made a distressed noise and moved away, not wanting to lose an arm from her.

“Sorry mate, Shirley  _ really  _ doesn’t like ya.” Jim replied, patting...Shirley and pacifying her for now. 

‘Battle Beast?’ Rin mouthed to Ruri who shrugged not knowing who that either. 

Yuri took a good look at Jim, noting that something was...off about him. And it wasn’t that he had a bandaged eye, a crocodile or an affable personality.

“Quick question, Professor,” Yuri spoke up. “But how exactly did someone like Jim become a part of Academia?”

Akaba glanced at Jim and then back to Yuri. “He was found on the shores of the island a few years ago with his deck and that crocodile, you see. No one knew who he was, and he only knew his name and the name of his pet’s. However he was a good duelist, easily able to defeat several high ranking and honor students. The only problem was his attitude, so Colonel Sanders kept him back in order to teach him more.”

“Attitude?” Yuri asked.

“He wasn’t deployed to Heartland for a reason, and it isn’t because of his skills. He refuses to card his opponents, but he has too much potential to be let go of.”

Shirely snarled a little. Yuri hummed in return. 

“Ah, I see. Well, perhaps  _ this _ duel will remind him that only the strong survive in Academia,” Yuri purred..Jim turned his head and looked at Yuri for that remark.

“Indeed, now then, let the duel begin!” Akaba commanded. Jim released the harness on his back and made sure to put Sherly down gently and patted her. 

Rin and Jim walked until they were across from each other and readied their duel disks. Yuri watched in interest and Doktor chuckled as he watched, hoping to see how his new parasites worked against this goody two-shoes.

“Duel!” Both Rin and Jim yelled.

**(Rin: 4000)............................(Jim:4000)**

“Hey check it out!” A student shouted. “There’s a duel going on!”

Several Obelisk Blue students looked at Rin and Jim about to duel and many of them looked in alarm at Jim. For the girls, many of them have confessed to crushing on this handsome gentleman and his politeness. For the boys, they were intrigued with Jim’s duel skills and a bit frightened at the crocodile who always seemed to be by his side. Various people made rumors as to how Jim even got the bandages covering his eye -- the major one was that it all involved Shirley somehow. Of course, no one could ever get  _ near _ enough to confirm this, as Shirley would growl and snap her jaws at anyone even staring at her and Jim funny.

As for Rin, no one knew much about her, all they knew is that she has made a lot of noise as she kept running away, along with the Xyz duelist. The Professor wanted them for something but no one knew much. Though they also knew that the green haired girl was louder and more foul mouth than the Xyz scum. Either way they certainly weren’t rooting Rin to win. 

“Alright mate, get your game on!” Jim yelled. 

“With pleasure,” Rin purred. “I’ll go first.”

“Don’t mind me,” Jim said gleefully. “Ladies first, as they say.”

Rin frowned, drew a card from her deck and placed it in her hand before deciding to go with the obvious strategy first. 

“First, I use Windwitch Ice Bell’s special ability, If I have no monsters on the field I can Special Summon her from my hand, and once she is summoned she inflicts 500 points of damage to you.”

With a girlish giggle and a swirl of ice, a witch in white garbs and cyan hair appeared on her broom stick. (1000 ATK)

Windwitch Ice Bell pointed her finger at Jim, sending cold snow flakes at the target with a cold smile on her face. The older boy shivered and rubbed his arms. 

“If I knew I’d be fighting against Ice powers I’d have brought a coat,” he commented. “Though it’s nice to meet a cutie like her.”

Windwitch Ice Bell giggled, a blush on her cheeks. 

**(Rin:4000)........(Jim:3500)**

  
  
  


“Well that’s not all,” Rin continued. “Because if I summon Windwitch Ice Bell that way I also get to Special Summon a ‘Windwitch’ from my deck. So come on out Windwitch Glass bell!” 

Windwitch Ice Bell raised her hand as a portal opened above her. A gloved hand clutched the first witch’s own as Windwitch Glass Bell was pulled into the field riding her own broom, and sending a kiss with two of her fingers. She looked kinda like Rin if she decided to dress up as a witch, riding on a large bell with a white handle, the bell itself covered in jewels. (1500 ATK) 

“Playful aren’t they?” Yuri commented.

“They do love to mess around, especially with an opponent’s life points,” Rin replied. “These two also love inviting their sisters to play, if Glass Bell is summoned I get to take a Windwitch monster from my deck and add it to my hand and I choose Windwitch Snow Bell,” Rin took the card from her deck and showed it to Jim.

Jim looked at the monster that looked...not like a girl at all. “No offense, but that looks more like a bell than a witch,” he commented.

“Very true, but hey I’m not the one who made them,” Rin replied with a shrug.“Next I use magic Blast, for every Spellcaster I have on my field you lose 200 points of damage. So that’s 400 points,” Rin said placing the spell card in the slot. Ice Bell and Glass Bell crossed their wands and a huge red and blue ball of fire appeared before it was hurled at Jim.

**(Jim: 3500 -> 3100)**

“If I kept being hit by ice and fire I’ll probably get sick.”

Rin smirked coldly. “Now with Windwitch Glass Bell and Windwitch Ice Bell on the field, I tune them together!” 

Both Ice Bell and Glass Bell smirked as they flew into the sky together. Glass Bell turned into four circles while Ice Bell transformed into three stars. Rin raised her hand up and started chanting a chant that has been engraved into her very soul.  _ _

**(*4 + *3 = *7)**

_ “ _ _ Winds of winter, snow and ice! Become my power to blow everything away! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 7! Wind Witch - Winter Bell!” _

The monster was...well,  _ no one _ had any idea what to think of it. It had a green triangle body and a large blue orb in its center, making it look like some futuristic hoverbike rather than something that said “Witch”. (2400 ATK)

“That’s an...interesting looking Spellcaster,” Ruri whispered. 

Rin rolled her eyes. Yeah, she knew that already, give her a break. She just chose the archetype she didn’t design the monsters. This was her weakest Synchro anyway, but she wasn’t gonna say that out loud. “Now Winter Bell’s effect, I chose one monster in my graveyard and you lose 200 lifepoints times her level, and I chose Windwitch Glass Bell, so that’s 800 lifepoints gone.”

The image of Glass Bell briefly appeared before she shifted into an arrow made of ice that fired directly at Jim’s shoulder, momentarily numbing it with cold.

**(Rin: 4000)....................... (Jim: 2300)**

“Not too strong but effective,” Doktor commented. “I wonder if she can do more.” 

Rin wanted to goddamn tell him how much more she could do after she froze him in place and ever so gleefully  _ stabbed an icicle through that disgusting brain of his _ ! Repeatedly, the rotten insane piece of shit. She kept her features calm as she went through several ways in which to cause this Doktor more pain, as she was sure Ruri was as well. 

“That’s almost half of his life points gone,” Sora noted, the first time he spoke since he arrived at the Obelisk Blue dorms. 

Rin let out a breath before taking two cards from her hand. “I place two cards face down and end my turn,” she placed two cards in their slots. 

“A’right, my turn!” Jim said and drew a card. “First I activate the Spell Card called Twin Twisters, so I send one card to the graveyard to destroy your two facedown cards.” 

Jim played a Quick-play Spell Card, that depicted two tornadoes tearing through the land. Caught in the twisters were a Magical Hat and an Ancient Telescope, a Horn of Light, a glowing Ankh and two Sheep Tokens. Then, twin tornadoes appeared and went past Windwitch Winter Bell, destroying Rin’s face-down cards. 

“Well, sorry that it had to come to this,” said Jim. “But those cards were going to get in the way of -- “

“I activate the second effect of my Trap Card Weather Witch,” said Rin, cutting off any explanation. A see-through card appears showing Windwitch Glass Bell riding on her broom stick, with another Windwitch behind her, raising her hands to the colorful sky. “If this card is destroyed by a card effect I choose one Windwitch from my deck and add it to my hand, and I choose Windwitch Snowfall!” Rin grabbed a card from her deck and showed it to Jim. 

Jim smiled. “Well, I’m not done yet either. Next I summon Shell Knight in Defense Mode, who takes 500 points out of you.” 

Appearing in front of Jim was a unique type of warrior. It had a grey body that looked like it was made of rock, but upon closer inspection it was actually seashells, like the helm being a large grey conch shell. (2000 DEF) Shell Knight lifted his hand, firing a conch-like missile at Rin’s feet, making her lose a few life points.

**(Rin: 3500)....................... (Jim: 2300)**

“Next I play a special card that no one has on this island,” Jim smirked. “I play the Spell Card known as  _ Fossil Fusion _ !”

“Fossil Fusion?” Rin asked, raising her eyebrow, looking at the card that didn’t look like the normal Fusion cards that she saw being used all around. Something is different about this one. Perhaps it’s the fact that the orange swirling monsters in the card were actually orange dinosaur skeletons.

“Yep, see Fossil Fusion doesn’t work with the cards in my hands, my monsters need to be in the graveyard, and I can also use  _ your  _ monsters as fuel. And the bigger the level the stronger the monster. So I’ll Banish Lost Guardian from my graveyard and your Lvl 4 Windwitch Glass Bell!”

Rin’s eyes widened and looked at her duel desk. Now she couldn’t use Glass Bell to whittle more lifepoints out of him!

Jim raised his hands in the air and brought them together “ _ Bones of creatures trapped in stone, reveal yourselves, come together to create an old creature anew! Fusion Summon! LV 4 Fossil Dragon Skullgar!” _

The ground began to shake as Jim’s newest monster emerged. It was a dragon skeleton fused with cybernetic implants and crimson eyes that roared at its prey, ready to devour it whole. (2500 ATK)

“Level 4?” Rin asked. “With 2500 attack points?!”

“Using monsters from both graveyards and banishing them is quite the unique method,” Yuri commented, narrowing his eyes at Jim. Something was...off about this duelist. Yuri couldn’t quite put his hand on it but it was there in the back of his mind, something quite… familiar...

“Indeed, and the bigger monsters he destroys the stronger the ones he could summon,” Akaba said. “It also seems to disturb Rin’s plays. Tell me Yuri, do you think that she could win this?” 

Yuri shrugged. “I didn’t let her duel that night, I don’t know what she’s really capable of to be honest,” he answered. 

Akaba nodded as the duel continued. 

“I end my turn,” Jim said, knowing that he was unable to fight off against the stronger Synchro monster...and secretly knew that this wasn’t the  _ strongest _ monster that lay in Rin’s deck.. 

**(Rin: 3400)....................... (Jim:2300)**

Rin glared, eyes cold as she drew her card. She looked at the new card she drew and her eyes narrowed, her lips pulled into a frown. 

“Rin, use it,” Akaba commanded. “Use Polymerization.” 

Jim’s eyes widened. Polymerization? But the girl was clearly a Synchro user; why would she have a Polymerization card? 

Rin’s head snapped towards Akaba trying very hard not to glare or choke him with her bare hands. Her bracelet glowed softly, ice started growing on her nails. 

“Wait sir,” Jim called out “You shouldn’t force her into using these cards if they don’t suit her. She’s clearly a Synchro user and adding other cards to her deck won’t help her especially if she has another strategy.”

“That’s enough!” Akaba snapped, glaring at this insolent little  _ brat _ . “ I did not ask for your opinion, I now understand Sanders’ reserves about you. My word is absolute., Rin, use Polymerization now!” 

Rin closed her eyes taking a breath through her nose as she raised her hand with the Polymerization card up and placed it in the slot. Her face was blank but it was clear to Ruri, Yuri and Jim that she was concealing the rage in her. 

Shirley backed away, making fearful noises. Jim looked worriedly at his friend before looking back at Rin. Even though this was all holograms, it sure felt like Shirley was in the worst place ever.

“I activate Polymerization, and fuse Windwitch Snow Fall and Windwitch Snow Bell,” Rin’s voice was even, her eyes opened. They held so much anger, and that cold smirk crept into her face. She raised her hands in the air and brought them together as the two monsters swirled into the Polymerization portal behind her.

_ “Winds of the storm filled with ice and snow, power of the Witches rise and grow, a new storm of malevolence strikes, take your strength from the colourless ice! Fusion Summon! Form Level 6 Windwitch Carillon!”  _

Unlike the previous Extra Deck monster, Carillon looked human. She was a young woman with a heart shaped face,  white hair and a purple bow tying her hair into a ponytail, a dress with a purple bodice decorated with glittering ice crystals that fell down into a black skirt. On top of her head was a black witch’s hat with a purple and black visor. She smiled as she tapped a finger to her cheek, that finger being painted black and filed to a point as with all the other fingers on her hands. (2000/2000 ATK/DEF)

“Gotta admit she’s quite a beauty,” Jim commented, bowing towards the new monster.

Carillon tilted her head and gave Jim a soft smile, her features were soft and pale, her eyes an icy blue color that complemented her hair. 

“I wish I was that monster!” An Obelisk Blue girl whined.

“Me too!” A friend of that girl added. “Oh if only Jim turned his eye my way!”

“Flatter will get you nowhere,” Rin said. “My monsters are beauties but they are just as deadly.”

Ruri also agreed; Jim just rubbed her the wrong way with his kindness. It reminded her too much of Dennis who had that smile to hide how much of a  _ monster _ he truly was.

“Alright my lady, let’s see what your girls got then,” Jim said, still grinning.. 

“As you wish,” Rin answered back with a confident smirk. ”Windwitch Carillon effect activates, she gets 200 ATK points for every Windwitch Monster in my Graveyard. I have a total of four monsters, so that’s another 800 ATK points.”

Carillon smiled as four snowflakes swirled around her before they gathered in her palm and her attack points grew. (2000 -> 2800 ATK)

“And that’s not all, once per turn I can add one card ‘Windwitch’ Spell or Trap card into my hand but I can’t draw on my next turn. So now I choose the field Spell Castle of the Snow Queen!” 

Rin took the card into her hand and showed it off before placing it in the field spell slot. The field transformed as the ground filled with snow the trees became covered, a giant castle that looked like it was made of ice and snow appeared behind Rin as the sky shone with an  _ aurora borealis. _

Shirley made a few pitiful sounds and Jim turned to her. “Ah Sherly!” he said, knowing how much she hated the cold. “Just hang in there girl, I promise it’ll be over soon!” 

“Focus on the duel, James!” Akaba yelled, making Shirley growl at him, and making Akaba flinch in return and move away from her slowly. Jim also narrowed his eye. 

“In the future, please call me ‘Jim’,” he said. 

Rin’s eyes narrowed a fraction and the wind blew stronger, getting everyone’s attention back to the duel. The land itself seemed ready to cover Jim in ice. “Thanks to my Field Spell, my Windwitches get a 300 Atk/Def point boost, and you lose 200 LP for every Windwitch that I summon into the field.” 

Carillon chuckled as a rainbow-aura surrounded her, and increased her stats further. (2800/2000->3100/2300 ATK)

“Now go Carillon, attack his  Fossil Dragon Skullgar!” 

Carilion’s nails were encased in ice turning them sharper until they could resemble knives. And in the blink of an eye she scratched Skullgar with them, the monster let out a wail before the bones began to transform into ice before breaking apart, shards of them going near Jim’s legs.

“Nice going, Rin,” Ruri cheered quietly. 

“Yes, this is the power of  _ Fusion _ ,” Doktor gloated. Ruri for the hundredth time wanted to scratch at the man’s eyes, but stopped herself from moving. “Revenge is a dish best served cold,” as it was said.

**(Rin:3400)....................... (Jim:1700)**

“Boy, these ladies sure are tough,” Jim said with a grin. “But this duel ain’t over yet! I draw,” he said before grabbing the card from his hand. “First I play  Miracle Rupture and discard one card from my hand, shuffle my deck and draw one card,” 

Jim smiled and swiftly discarded a monster from his hand, let his deck be shuffled, then drew a card. He looked at his hand and nodded with a smile. Now he was ready. “Next I play a familiar card, Fossil Fusion! And since you have a Level 7 in your graveyard miss, I get to summon my biggest monster into the field!”

_ No! Shit, shit, shit  _ Rin said, seeing Windwitch - Winter Bell being taken from her graveyard, along with another monster

“In rock and dirt, hidden by time and concealed, by wind and earth, revive and show yourself a monster of old! Fusion Summon!LV8 Fossil Dragon Skullgois!”

The ground began to shake as a humongous shadow began to overshadow Rin and her monster. The audience gasped in horror at what they were seeing. It was… a big monster that was made from bones, or rather to be more apt a dinosaur skeleton..the skeleton of a _Tyrannosaurus rex._ (3500 ATK)

“Um, that’s a dinosaur,” Rin pointed out, a hand on her hip.

“Well, back in medieval times and before modern paleontology paved the way, people assumed that the bones of dinosaurs were actually dragons. And there are plenty of draconic monsters that are Dinosaur-types, am I right?”

“Of course he is!” An Obelisk Blue stated.

“And since I used one of your monsters from the graveyard, Carilion loses attack points, but that won’t matter in a second.” 

Carilion gasped at seeing her stats drop slightly, knowing that she was defenseless against this skeletal monster. (3100/2300->2900/2300)

“Now I attack Windwitch Carillon, and since it’s the battle phase I activate Skullgois’ special ability! I can choose to switch the attack and defense points of your monster, and whatever damage you take is doubled!” 

The giant dinosaur skeleton bit into Carillon and her eyes narrowed as suddenly she was racked with pain. She screamed as she was destroyed, wind and dust and ice shards flew towards Rin as she lost life points. 

“That’s more than half her life points gone,” Sora piped up, as if it wasn’t any more obvious what happened.

“Hm…” Akaba watched silently 

“Hmm… she still has a way to come back,” Yuri said, looking at Rin’s narrow eyes.

“Since Carillon was destroyed in battle I get to retrieve one ‘Windwitch’ monster from my graveyard, and I chose Windwitch Snow Fall,” Rin declared, retrieving the card and showing it to Jim.

Jim smiled, not frightened at Rin gaining a chance to strike back. “I place one card face down and end my turn. Your move.”

The winds howled once more. Jim’s eyes widened as he saw the flicker of darkness, and the small sheen of ice cover Rin’s cheek. 

  
  


**(Rin:1000)....................... (Jim:1700)**

“I can’t draw this turn, but I don’t need to,” Rin said.

Jim’s eyes widened a bit, unsure what she was talking about. She still had three cards in her hand that she didn’t use, are they enough? And why hasn’t she used them until now?

“To start with, I activate Windwitch Calamity’s ability and send one card from my hand to the graveyard, so I can special summon her to the field. Appear!”

From a portal another monster rose,  A young woman with green hair pulled into a high ponytail in blue armor, high dress neck, blue combat boots, blue gloves, along with a white and green viser, and bell crest on her armor. Basically it looked like the more attack initiative version of Glass Bell. (2200/2000 -> 2500/2300 ATK/DEF) 

“She looks more like a warrior type than a spell caster,” Jim observed.

“Stop criticizing my monsters!” Rin yelled, and Calamity narrowed her eyes at Jim. The green haired duelist growled before taking a deep breath and letting it out, her next words were calm and cold in return “You lose 200 life points because of her.”

**(Jim:1700 ->1500)**

“But of course, I’m not done. Now I Normal Summon Windwitch Snow Fall!”

A girl with white hair and a short blue bodice and a black short skirt that reaches her mid thigh appeared. Topping her snow-white hair was a black witch’s hat with a blue and white visor, and she rode a broomstick covered in an icy blue ribbon (300/1200 ATK/DEF)

“A Tuner?” Jim asked. 

“That’s right, and when she’s Normal Summoned you lose 500 LP along with the 200 LP thanks to the field.”

And for the third time the winds howled and hit Jim, making him shiver.

**(Jim: 1500 -> 800)**

“Hey, go easy on him!”

“He’s sensitive to the cold!”

“I hope his eye is all right!”

“Oh jeez,” Rin sighed, rolling her eyes at the commentators. “Now I tune Windwitch Calamity and Windwitch Snow Fall together!” Rin growled, so close to slicing those girls’ throats out.

The two witches rose into the sky Snow Fall turned into circles while Calamity turned into stars. 

_ “Cold winds of the starless night wail, decened to the ground like soft falling hail, ring your bells and sing a choir of sounds, Synchro Summon! Level 8! Windwitch Angelous Bell!” _

**(*5 + *3 = *8)**

The Synchro monster that appeared in a portal marked with snowflake sigils looked older than the two previous girls, she had long straight white hair, a white bodice with a white sash like sleeve that goes over her shoulder, decorated with small roses that trail all over it, her midriff was exposed, a white skirt with deep blue edges and a white tiara decorated with deep blue gemstones with a veil that trailed down her back.  (2800/3000 -> 3100/3300)

“She is quite heavenly,” Jim said. Angelus Bell giggled, and smiled at Jim gently. 

“This monster is still not strong enough to take this Skullgois on,” Doktor said, narrowing his eyes at this witch.

“These ladies look really delicate but I don’t think you should underestimate them,” Yuri said, remembering a long ago when he was younger back at his Father’s castle, back home and seeing these witches meeting with his father. On the days in which they stayed at the castle, they would freeze a certain room, fill it with snow and ice, and let him and his brothers play in it along with the younger sisters. Yugo especially loved them, while Yuri found some of them annoying as they tended to wander off into his garden and freeze some of his plants.

“And once again, you lose 200 LP for the Windwitch that I just summoned.” Rin continued, not sure whether Yuri was defending her or not.

Jim shivered again as the wind hit him once more. “I’m gonna need a warm blanket after this,” he said, rubbing his arms trying to warm up. “So what else you got? Cause things as they are, your Witch still can’t stand to Skullgois, even if switching Attack and Defense wasn’t optional.” 

“Hm,” Rin smirked. “Please, do you think that being beautiful and having high attack points is  _ all  _ my witches have? You’re mistaken! I activate Angelous Bell’s effect! I send three cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard and I get to destroy one card for every Windwitch on the field,” Rin explained, removing three cards from the top of her deck and sending them to the graveyard. 

“No way…” Jim said, his eye widened. Shirley also whimpered in fear.

“And of course, I choose to destroy your Fossil Dragon  Skullgois!” 

Angelous Bell’s smile became sharp, she placed two fingers on her lips kissing them, once she removed them several snowflakes appeared, as she blew them all towards Fossil Dragon Skullgois, freezing it over, before it shattered. 

“That’s not good…” Jim muttered as the Obelisk Blue girls were glaring daggers at Angelous Bell’s kiss to Jim, wishing it was  _ them _ in her place.

“No duh!” An Obelisk Blue replied.

Rin let out a sigh, wholly not happy with the audience at all. “Angelus Bell, destroy his Shell knight!” Rin commanded her witch, and Angelous obliged, several ice spikes falling down from the sky impaling Shell Knight and destroying him. Thankfully Angelus Bell was unable to inflict piercing damage so Jim’s life points were safe for the moment.

“I end my turn,” Rin declared, Angelus showed a satisfied smile as she loosely crossed her arms. 

**(Rin:1000)....................... (Jim: 600)**

“Boy I sure am glad I wasn’t at the spiky end of these things,” Jim said. “Rather no want to lose my other eye.”

“Seriously? I thought it was because that crocodile ate it!” one of the students yelled in surprise.

At this, Shirley snarled and was close to crawling towards the student who made that remark, snapping her jaws.

“Oh nah, Shirley’s a good girl. She’s very protective, she wouldn’t harm me,” Jim said.

“Why is this school even allowed to have her in the first place?” another student questioned. 

“Let’s just finish the duel,” Rin said, wanting out of the spotlight of Akaba and all the students who have been glaring daggers at her or drooling at her and her witches. 

“Right,” Jim said and nodded his head, also wanting to get out of everyone’s stares at him.

“Beat her Jim!” A girl cried.

Angelus Bell’s eyes trailed down the row of students who were talking, her pretty face became cold and dangerous. 

_ Hmm...Seems the Windwitches are considering Rin as one of their own, interesting.  _ Yuri thought.  _ _

_ ‘One last card, this is it…”  _ Jim thought, knowing that this was his final chance of victory. He heard the rumors of Battle Beast and of his savagery. He honestly didn’t know what awaited him if he lost.

“I draw!” he yelled and looked at the card before smiling. 

Rin’s eyes narrowed. 

“Alright, I play Monster Reborn!” Jim yelled before placing the spell card in the slot. “So come on back, Fossil Dragon Skullgois!”

_ Oh that is some bullshit luck!  _ Rin thought.

“What?!” Ruri yelled 

“She’s done for, for sure, she has no cards in her hands, no traps set and no monster she can summon so easily that can beat that thing,” Sora commented. 

With a roar the Fossil Fusion monster returned, ready to attack Angelus Bell. (3500 ATK)

“She’ll still have life points left,” Yuri said. 

“Unless she can pull a miracle, she’ll lose this,” Sora said.

_ Come on Rin, please tell me you have something up your sleeves.  _ Ruri thought

“Go Skullgois attack Angelus Bell!” Jim commanded and with another roar Skullgoise attacked the Windwitch. 

Students cheered as they saw this as the end of the duel and Rin’s defeat.

Skullgois’ jaws locked around Angelus Bell and bit down, making Angelus Bell grit her teeth and give a muffled yell, ice daggers flew around, hitting Rin as she lost life points. Angelus Bell banged on Skullgois’ skull until it let her go. She glared at it as she flew back near Rin.

“Wait what?” Jim asked

“She’s still standing?” Sora asked.

“How is that possible? Your monster can be destroyed in battle!” Jim said. 

“Yes, that’s right, she can, but my monster’s  _ protection  _ is different.”

“Say what?” Jim asked. 

“Angelus’ special ability lets me send three cards from my deck to the graveyard, remember? And of these cards one of them was my Windwitch Carol Bell, and she has a special gift: if she’s in the graveyard, my monsters can’t be destroyed in battle,” Rin explained.

Jim’s eye widened. “So that means...” 

“It means you’re done for!” 

_ ‘No, I still have my trap card, I can have one last shot if she chooses to destroy Skullgois again…”  _ Jim thought, staring at that face-down card.

**(Rin:200)....................... (Jim:600)**

_ ‘One monster, that’s all I need, and I can end this duel once and for all.’ _

“I draw,” Rin said, she looked at the card in her hand, and a cold smirk touched her lips “I summon Windwitch Bell Toller. So that means that you again you lose 200 LP,” she said, winds filled with snow hits Jim lightly 

Another young witch with blue and white hair, wearing a blue dress outlined with black ruffles, short blue and black gloves, appeared. A halo of bells floating over her head like a balloon which she constantly keeps ringing happily, tugging the string in her hand that caused the field to ring like it was Christmas.  (1600/2000->1900/2300)

Bell Toller came into the field giggling happily, Angelus Bell smiled, looking lovingly at Bell Toller.

“And another 200 life points are taken from you,” Bell Toller grinned and extended her hand, wind was sent from her palm towards Jim making him lose another 200 LP 

**(Jim:600->400)**

“Now I activate Angelus Bell’s special ability and send another three cards to the graveyard,” she grabbed the top three cards and placed them in the graveyard slot. “And since I have two Windwitches on the field, both your monster and your face down card get destroyed!”

“Shit…” Jim swore against the icy winds hitting him. He saw Angelus Bell send another snowflake filled kiss into his monster and his trap card, freezing both and destroying them. 

A lot of boos and jeers were heard from the audience. Rin rolled her eyes; these people were just like the Tops.“Go! Angelus Bell end this duel!” Rin commanded and Angelus bell obeyed, and in the blink of an eye she stood in front of Jim, and just to pour more salt on the wound, Angelous placed a kiss on Jim’s cheek.

Jim’s eye widened, and his cheeks flushed slightly before smiling at Angelus Bell and tipping his hat at her.

**(Rin:200)....................... (Jim:0)**

“No fair!”

“I want Jim to do that to me!”

“Burn that witch! BURN THAT WITCH!” 

Rin ignored them all as the holograms disappeared. This was just like how the Tops treated her back in her dimension. She can deal with this; it’s nothing new.

Akaba gave three claps. “You did well Rin, and it seems the Doktor’s previous experiments have.”

Jim raised his eyebrow at that remark, while Rin side-eyed Akaba. 

“Of course Professor,” she said obediently with a nod. 

“Very well then, Jim shall duel the Battle Beast as per Colonel Sanders’ request,” Akaba said. Rin looked in concern at Jim. She might not know what a Battle Beast is but it simply didn’t sound good at all. And she didn’t want the nicest guy in this place to be hurt. 

Jim just gave her a smile and tipped his hat again. “Don’t worry about me, lass. I’ve fought off tougher baddies in the past.” 

“Now Sora Shin’in, Ruri Korosaki, it’s your turn to duel,” Akaba commanded, looking at both of them and glaring at Sora. 

Sora nodded and walked to where Jim was standing before. Ruri’s eyes hardened more, filling with anger and hatred. The Xyz duelist clenched her fists. She honestly couldn’t wait for her strongest monster to leave marks on that boy’s skin with her talons.

Ruri caught Rin’s eyes as she took Rin’s place and stood across from Sora before activating her duel desk. “It’s your go,” Ruri said drily, her eyes narrowing at Sora, gaining a malicious glint to them that made shivers run down Sora’s spine. 

Ruri’s face reminded him so much of Yuzu’s and it hurt to look at Ruri’s face and not see Yuzu there, glaring like that at him with hatred in her heart. She looked ready to murder him.

Sora nodded as he activated his duel disk. 

“Duel!” They both yelled. 

**(Sora:4000)..........(Ruri: 4000)**

“I go first,” said Sora, drawing a card. He looked at his hand, knowing that he was going to be fighting off against the sister of Shun Kurosaki. And seeing how ruthless Shun was, he knew that Ruri wasn’t going to be a pushover. 

“I play Polymerization,” said Sora. “And I’m using it to fuse the Fluffal Bear and Edge Imp Sabers in my hand!”

Ruri narrowed her eyes as the Polymerization portal appeared behind Sora’s head. Entering it was an adorable bear with pink fur and wings alongside a set of sharp knife blades bundled together.

_ "Claws of the demon! Fangs of the beast! Become one and reveal a new form and power! Fusion Summon! Appear, horrifying beast that shreds everything! Frightfur Bear!" _

With a terrifying roar, a new beast appeared on Sora’s field. It looked like Fluffal Bear..if Fluffal Bear had been ripped in half and some demonic child bisected it and placed a pair of scissors in its midsection, and then tore off its arms so that its paws could be attached to  _ another _ pair of scissors that looked like it was surgically added onto the teddy bear. It had wide eyes while underneath its mouth filled with sharp teeth, two glowing pink eyes stared out, ready to decapitate someone in the duel. (2200 ATK)

“And I’m ending my turn there,” said Sora. “Make your move.”

“My turn!” Ruri yelled and drew a card. “ This duel is already over,” she declared before showing off one of her monsters. “Since I have no monsters on the field I can Special Summon  Lyrilusc - Turquoise Warble!”

From a portal of light came a monster who seemed to be half bird half human, with the face of a little girl with a bodysuit that is oily green with shoulder and knee guards, and blue tips, with a helmet like the head of the bird she was based on. (100 ATK)

“And since she was Special Summoned I get to choose one monster from my deck and special summon it, so I special Summon Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow.”

This bird girl had long blond hair that reached her back with brown feathers and wings, with light yellow feathers like her hair on her chest and the lower part of her body, with blue rhinestones decorating her neck like a necklace. (0 ATK)

“And since  _ she  _ was special summoned as well I get to choose one Winged Beast type monster from my deck to my hand and I choose another Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow,” Ruri explained, showing the monster to Sora. 

_ How many times is she gonna do this?!  _ Sora thought to himself. 

“Next since I have a winged beast on the field I get to use Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow’s ability, I can special summon her and another monster winged beast monster into the field, so I special summon another Lyrilusc - Turquoise Warble.” 

This time a blue feathered bird girl appreaded, she had long blue hair, and seemed to be wearing a black and white vest that reached her mid thigh, with two black tails in the back of it. She also wore a cap that emulated the head of a swallow. (100 ATK) Then, another Turquoise Warble appeared and stood by her sister. (100 ATK)

“Then I Normal Summon Lyrilusc - Cobalt Sparrow from my hand!” 

Another Cobalt Sparrow flew up with a sweet smile and stood beside her sisters in front of Ruri. (0 ATK)

“What’s a bunch of weak monsters gonna do?” One student yelled. “Are all Xyz duelists this pathetic?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” Ruri growled and even Yuri had to shiver at Ruri’s hatred and anger. 

“I build the overlay unit!” Ruri yelled as black hole filled with stars opened between her and Sora. Ruri’s monsters flew into the sky before dive-bombing into the epicenter of the Overlay Network became beams of light that got sucked into it.

_ “ _ _ Birds with beautiful wings! Gather on the battlefield and take brilliant flight! Xyz Summon! Dance in the sky! Rank 1! Lyrical Luscinia - Assembly Nightingale!  _ _ Xyz Summon! Rank 1! Lyriusc - Assembly Nightingale!” _

Assembly Nightingale rose from the Overlay Network with a proud screech. She looked older than the girls that were before her and far more colorful, her feathers had four colors, her extended wings were three sections, pink, blue and yellow, with a blue hat with purple extensions and a skirt that followed the pattern of her wing feathers, and what seemed to be blond hair  (0 ATK)

“All that summoning for a weak monster? That same student exclaimed.

“Assembly Nightingale’s effect!” Ruri proclaimed. “It gains 200 attack and defense points for every Overlay Unit on it, and there are 5!”

Assembly Nightingale stretched her wings out and smiled at the power washing over her. (0/0 -) 1000/1000)

“Are you nuts?” asked Sora. “Your monster’s too weak to --”

“Assembly Nightingale can attack you directly and can make an additional attack for every Overlay Unit on her!”

“B...but that means.”

“You’re done. DESTROY HIM!”

“Wait-hold on!”

Assembly Nightingale let out a cry as she flew past her claws, hitting Sora five times, sending him flying back into a tree as he lost all of his life points. 

Yuri whistled and chuckled as the audience looked on in horror. “Well that was quite a show of murderous intent,” he clapped a few times to emphasize his amusement. Rin glanced at him before looking at Ruri. The Lyrilusc duelist was still shaking, doing her best to conceal her hatred. Rin could tell she was still enraged, and this was payback, and she still wasn’t done. And judging from Akaba’s expression Sora was not done either. 

“Yes, very impressive, but Ruri did not show me what I wanted,” Akaba stated. “She did not use Polymerization,” Akaba declared. 

“I did not draw the card,” Ruri said robotically. While thinking to herself,  _ Of course I’m not gonna fucking draw it on my first turn, you dumbass! I have forty other cards beside it! _

“Ruri’s deck is not meant for Fusion, Professor,” Yuri pointed out, trying to calm the fire in Ruri. “Pulling one card out of forty is quite a feat especially when her deck is not designed for such things.”

“Yes that is true. But regardless, I order you to use the card,” Akaba said. “And you will keep dueling until you use it and win with it!” 

It took Ruri  _ everything  _ she had not to shake or scream. “Yes, Professor,” she said, trying not to growl. She wanted to punch the man, to spit in his face and scream at him that she’ll never use that card, ever! But if she did she’ll be in trouble, this was best, for her to stay relatively obedient, she really hoped that she never draws that card. 

“Sora! You will keep being her opponent.”

Sora sat up, hands shaking, not wanting to deal with that again. In all fairness, he knew he kinda deserved it for how he mocked Yuto about the possibility of her being carded. “B...but…”

“Are you questioning me?! Perhaps your time in that dimension has made you soft.”

“N-no… of course not Professor,” Sora said, standing up. He looked again at Ruri, seeing more anger and hatred in her, gritting her teeth at him as if she wanted to scratch his eyes out. 

…

…

…

They dueled. Over and over, Ruri’s monsters were crafty but there were ways to get rid of them, albeit it did take an effort. Both of them won a few duels, and it went that way until the last one. Both of them exhausted and hurt, and it was finally Ruri’s turn...and she had just drawn Polymerization.

Ruri's eyes became colder as she stared at the card, it felt heavy in her hand, she simply wanted to tear it into pieces. It felt as if it was burning her hand to simply hold that card. It was used over and over as an instrument of destruction against her and her beautiful home, against her brother and friends. Overnight, this card became synonymous with hatred and danger, these were the only things Polymerization represented to Ruri. She wanted to scream and cry, and tear the card in half to show how much she hated this entire dimension. Beads of sweat fell down her forehead. 

She looked to the side, seeing Akaba and the filthy Doktor looking expectedly at her, and Ruri was tired already from all the duels. But she wasn’t broken, she wasn’t gonna fall to her knees and cry and beg it to be over. To protect herself and Rin from all the experiments, to repay the debt that she has to Zarc, to see Yuto and Shun and home again she had to do it. Ruri shook and gritted her teeth before raising her hand and showing the card before putting it in her Duel Disk.. 

“I play Polymerization and fuse Lyrilusc - Assembly Nightingale with my Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow!” Ruri almost growled and it hurt her to do this, her heart clenched in pain as the spell card was activated. 

The two Lyrilusc monsters looked in disgust but had no choice but to obey Ruri’s command. They flew into the Polymerization portal as Ruri placed her closed fist into her open hand, mimicking Sora’s movements in their previous duels.

_ "Twitter of the songbird that resounds in the dark night. Become one with the inner voice and cry more intensely! Fusion Summon! Fly down! Noble isolated night bird! Lyrilusc - Independent Nightingale!" _

(1000 ATK)

“Independent Nightingale’s effect! For every Overlay Units attached to her, her level increases by 1 and she gains 500 attack points for every level!”

(LV: 1 -) 5, 1000 -) 3500 ATK)

“And now her effect! Once per turn, she inflicts 500 points of damage for every level she has!”

“Not so fast!” said Sora. “I activate my face-down card Memory Loss! Since your attacking monster activated its effect, then this card negates its effect and then places the monster in your Defense Mode! What do you say to that?”

“Independent Nightingale is immune to the effects of other cards!” Ruri said with a cold smile. “It’s over!”

Sora lost the last duel, and Akaba was satisfied with Ruri. Both of them collapsed, injured and exhausted. 

“Take them to the medical facility!” Akaba demanded before turning to Rin. “I will send one of the students to show you to your new accommodations, now that I am sure  _ neither  _ of you would run away again. 

“Yes Professor,” Rin answered. 

“Jim Cook, report back to Colonel Sanders immediately,” Akaba demanded.

Jim sighed. “Yes sir,” he answered, giving one last glance at Rin, Ruri and Yuri before heading to the colonel to get his “lesson.” Shirley growled to help give Jim some reassurance, which made Jim smile a little, before he began marching himself towards Colonel Sanders’ classroom and awaited his destiny.

“Ruri…” Sora whispered, his vision fading to black, tears forming in his eyes. “I...I’m sorry…”

Ruri’s eyes narrowed before she went unconscious. Sora wasn’t that far behind, the Lyrilisics Xyz monsters were vicious and unforgiving with him. Yuri narrowed his eyes, knowing that Sora was more sorry for insulting her and her brother than actually sorry for being such a sadist. 

The two of them were laid out on stretchers and moved to the healing facility in the main building. Another student came by soon after and led Yuri and Rin to Rin’s new room, with Ruri’s being across from her own. It was a much better upgrade than being stuck in that tower.

“What now?” Rin asked and sat on the luxurious bed as Yuri looked around the room.

“We do as we’re told until we have the freedom to do otherwise,” Yuri whispered back. “It will be soon. The Professor wants the rest of you; he will send us to retrieve Yuzu and Serena, then...we’ll figure things out from there.” 

Rin looked down and nodded. “Right…”

“Get some rest for now, you and especially Ruri need it.” 

“Right,” Rin said with a nod. 

Yuri placed his hand on Rin’s shoulder and gave her a nod before leaving her room and letting her sleep. 

**********

** _The Next day. _ **

In his bedroom, Yuri collapsed onto his bed, with a groan. It had been a long day for him as well as the girls. While in a meeting with Akaba, he had felt his father closing the bond. It had been a distressful few hours for him, even trying to keep it together. 

It felt so numbing to have Father’s link shut up like that. Yuri had no idea what could’ve caused it to cut off, but he hated it. He had just reunited with his family just two or three days ago and now he felt like he was shoved into a tiny room whose walls were covered in sharp shards of glass and he had to make sure to stand perfectly still in the center or else have the glass stab him. 

He needed to leave then, lock himself in his room until he felt the bond come back again, and wait until his Father’s calming presence return to the back of his mind, and his Father apologizing and sendling his love to him. He needed it, needed to know that Father was there, that what he experienced wasn’t a fluke.

_ Father... _ Yuri thought, clutching a pillow.  _ Father, where are you? Father, why did you shut yourself off? Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…. _

** _Shhh, my love, you did nothing wrong, _ **

Yuri gasped as he felt Father’s presence, tears falling down his cheeks. He felt soft lips on his cheeks, and his father’s fingers in his hair.

“Papa…” Yuri whispered.

** _It’s alright my Lily I got you. Forgive me, but something bad happened. _ ** Zarc places kisses on Yuri’s forehead, cheek and nose.  ** _I’m sorry my dear, I had to shut the bond for a while. _ **

“I was so scared…”

** _I know, dear one, but it’s alright, I’m back now._ **

“W-what happened?” Yuri asked, afraid to find the answer.

Zarc sighed.  ** _Darling, I want you to stay calm okay? I’m still here, right with you _ ** Zarc whispered running his hand through Yuri’s hair. 

“What do you mean?”

** _My beautiful thorned rose...this is a very...concerning matter regarding..._ ** **her** ** _...Ray._ **

“...Ray?”

** _She has decided to show herself after all this time, granting Yuzu the Xyz monsters needed to fight off that obnoxious tool who tried to steal Timegazer and Stargazer Magician from Yuya. _ **

“I hate her…” Yuri whispered.

** _I was afraid you’d say that. Because Ray and I had a talk, at Yuzu’s behest, and I have decided that the best course of action was to form a truce._ **

_ “What?! But Father... ” _

** _I know, sweetheart. I know,_ ** Zarc whispered and kissed Yuri’s forehead gently.  ** _I know she hurt us, but I still love her… she was my treasure as well. _ **

Yuri looked away and Zarc hugged him tighter.  _ “I hate her... “ _ he said.  _ “If it weren’t for her, her father wouldn’t have done what he did to me and hurt my brothers!” _

** _I’m not asking you to love her, or forgive her. I understand that it hurts you, but please at least understand it for my sake. Ray truly loved all of you. She saw you as her little brothers -- or, rather _ ** **sons** ** _ now that she’s learned the truth about -- _ **

_ “Why did you even let her into our lives?!” _ Yuri shouted.  _ “What made her so special in the first place?” _

** _Yuri…_ **

_ “Couldn’t we be enough?”  _ Yuri asked with a broken voice.  _ “Just the four of us and you..we were happy and together. We didn’t need anything else. She hurt us, hurt you.” _

Yuri sniffled, still remembering that horrible moment of him seeing his brothers slowly fading away and him left to beg and scream for Father to save them, only to see him also fade away into nothingness before being reborn as the loyal and obedient  _ slave _ to Ray’s father.

** _I know. _ ** Zarc said softly, hugging Yuri and kissing the top of his head, letting the boy cry on his chest.  ** _If it makes you feel any better, she will never be able to hurt us again. I made sure of that._ **

_ “I… what did you do?”  _

Zarc kissed Yuri’s forehead once more.  ** _I put her under my spell, love. _ **

_ “Your spell?”  _

** _Yes, I made her mine, fully_ **

Yuri buried his face in Zarc’s chest. 

** _I know you wouldn’t forgive her. But she is mine, Yuri. _ **

Reluctantly, Yuri nodded and hugged his father tighter.  _ “Stay with me, Papa...I don’t want to think this was all some sick dream I made up…” _

** _I am here now, it’s alright my dearest, it’s all gonna be alright. _ **

Yuri sighed  _ “I understand.” _

** _My good boy, I’m proud of you. Papa’s so happy..._ ** Zarc said before kissing Yuri’s cheek once more.  ** _Now then my sweet, tell me what happened. _ **

Yuri snuggled to Zarc and began telling him everything that happened in the past two days.

  
  


***********

Sora had a long time to realize what he’s done and how much he has lost in the process. He watched as Ruri left the room following Yuri out like a doll, and it caused him to shiver. He had no idea why a girl from Xyz would follow the professor’s orders, he had a suspicion that she didn’t have a choice in the matter at all. The look in her eyes when she looked at the Professor was different from the one that she looked at him with but only on the surface. 

If Yuya or Yuzu were here, they’d immediately rush in and show concern for him, and perhaps a “Get Well Soon” cake with chocolate frosting on it. But he doesn’t get that kindness or concern from anyone at Academia. You weren’t supposed to show concern to your fellow student.

Sora was one of the best, but being the best was synonymous with being alone. He always believed that he didn’t need anyone, that all he had to do was show that he is strong, follow the professor’s orders and beat everyone in his way.

But when Yuya came to defend him against Yuto, what did Sora do? Push Yuya away. And when the Professor asked him to capture Yuzu, he wrestled with the idea of harming his closest...friends.

Friends. That word was foreign on his tongue like a candy flavor he’s never tried before. One he really liked and wanted everyday. Sora sighed, his heart shattering like a lollipop tossed to the ground, he knew he probably hurt Yuya and Yuzu with his lies. And he knew that those two would never forgive him for his treachery. 

When he saw the hate in Ruri’s eyes, someone who had Yuzu’s face, sadness and guilt filled him. He never meant to hurt Yuzu or Yuya. they were the first people to really show care about him beyond him being a duelist. Even he had to admire the lengths both of them would go to to make the people around them happy, even strangers, even him.

Even though most of his cuteness was an act they did endear themselves to Sora, making him smile, Yuya’s mother letting him eat pancakes, and he liked teaching Yuzu Fusion. Okay, maybe not supporting the You Show Duel School was a bad idea, but in his defense he didn’t want to give away his identity so soon.

The blue haired boy sighed and left the infirmary room, his mind still lost about everything that had happened to him. With his failures to card anyone, having been defeated by Shun and now losing what could possibly be the  _ only _ friends he’s ever had, he was absolutely stuck. It probably didn't help that most of the school was going to learn that he was an absolute failure and would want nothing to do with him anymore.

What should he do now? Wait until the Professor gives him orders...or try to fix and salvage what’s left of the only relationships that made him happy? What now?

Sora sighed as he headed to his room, hearing the students jeer and laugh at him for losing to that Xyz scum over and over again. If he had a lollipop on hand, he would bite onto it until the candy shattered and he would throw the stick and hopefully it would land into someone’s eye. 

After a long walk of jeers, boos and laughter, Sora finally made it to his dorm, entered it and locked the door shut. Leaning his back against the door, he honestly hoped he wasn’t called on for another duel or lesson for a long time. He balled his hands into fists as he wanted to just tear into something, rip something in half,  _ destroy destroy destroy _ …

Just like he destroyed the one good thing he probably ever had in his life, given to him without anything in return. It’s all he’s ever known in this place… how to be a soldier and now… does he really want to continue as he is? Would gaining outweigh the loss of his friends?

_ “Yuya...Yuzu...I’m sorry…”  _ He thought to himself, tears cascading down his face.

Then Sora collapsed on his bed, and for the first time in a long time, he began to cry. 

***********

Rin let out a breath, she felt something different as the room seemed to be a little colder than she was used to in Academia and when she went to sleep.

“Meow…”

Rin heard a sound like a purr, like the D-Wheels that were her and Yugo’s lullaby to keep their minds focused on their dream and she opened her eyes expecting to find herself in the Synchro Dimension again. But...this wasn’t the Synchro Dimension, or Academia. 

She blinked a few times as she took in her room: the walls were pure white, covered in sheens of ice, with large snowflakes decorated on the far wall. The room appeared to be extremely cold as she could see her breath in the cold air, but to her the temperature strangely seemed just fine.

Another purr grabbed Rin‘s attention, and the Windwithch duelist looked down and found a white blob on her lap with blond and blue fur on its head and pretty teal eyes. The blob tilted its head, its triangular ears twitching and its tail swishing around, wondering why Rin wasn’t giving it affection.

Rin blinked again. “Freya?” she asked, knowing this kitten, or rather Familiar. She belonged to her Windwitches. Freya purred again and nuzzled Rin happily. 

Despite how strange and unfamiliar this was to Rin, she began to pet Freya making the kitten purr louder. Rin could feel the soft fur under her hand. She wasn’t quite sure how but her monster had gotten out of the card and is now snuggling to her. But she was glad that the cat was here; Freya’s grin was comfort.

Rin smiled softly as she hugged the little kitten closer and lied down on the bed, letting Freya rest on her. She petted the kitten, scratched behind her ears and thought of what could any of this mean and how it was happening. She eventually chucked it off to whatever magic she was given by Lord Zarc. 

She raised her hand, the one that wasn’t petting Freya and brought it closer to her, she flexed her hand a few times, staring at the bracelet Yuri handed to her, the one that was filled with Yugo’s...presence…

She wanted to know how Yugo was doing. She knew that she was always on his mind, the day before she had dreamt that she was with him, wearing a black dress, she had no idea if that was her own dream or if she could actually go into Yugo’s dreams herself. 

She sighed again. Akaba had said that if she and Ruri proved themselves they would go with Yuri to Synchro as someone had informed the Professor that Reiji and his teams, who he called the ‘Lancers’, were heading there. She was gonna have the opportunity to go home and reunite with Yugo. She was so happy, but also worried; she had no idea how long she could keep this charade going on, especially Ruri. Academia destroyed her home, took too much from her, and if her duels with Sora have proved anything. it’s that Ruri was breaking. The anger and grief was rising in her, and she would lash out sooner or later, and if this was Rin’s powers, she had no idea what Ruri’s would be, and if she would hurt someone accidentally in her anger. 

While Ruri was justified, she couldn’t let the anger consume her. She’d be no better than Academia. If someone found out she could be in more danger that they all already were in. Speaking of which... Rin sighed and sat up, making Freya slide to her lap. She placed the kitten on the bed before removing the covers and getting up. She kinda needed to melt all this ice before someone came in here, and she had no idea how.

Raising her hands up and pointing them at the wall, cold winds shot out making her squeal in excitement...before realizing that she just made the situation even worse.

“Well that...wasn’t the desired outcome… um…” she looked at her hands again before flickering her fingers lightly, her eyes widened as small ice shrapnels flew out of her hand into the wall. 

She gasped before looking at her hand again and back to the wall. Freya purred in amusement as she watched Rin basically make things all the more harder to clean.

“Uhh...how do I do this? It’s not like there’s an actual guide to this.”

Freya meowed and Rin looked at her. “Can you help?” Rin asked the cat half jokingly.

Freya jumped down from the bed and walked to Rin before nuzzling her legs and then going to the wall, placing her small paws on it. Rin blinked and tilted her head before going closer to the wall and placing her hands on it. She inhaled and imagined the ice turning melting into water. She exhaled, a few seconds that made Rin hear her own heartbeats before slowly the ice started to melt, making Rin gasp. She laughed and cheered, with Freya nuzzling her leg again, purring. 

“I did it...I really did it!” Rin said, gathering Freya into her arms and cuddling the kitty. “Thank you so much!”

“Meow,” the kitten answered back, nuzzling Rin. 

Rin laughed again before looking at her hands, grinning. “So...what else can I do?” she thought to herself. “Like perhaps I could do this?”

She brought her hand to the floor and watched as a large icy stalagmite grow like a tree. Rin gasped in wonder and then looked back at her hand and stretched her fingers. Her nails were quickly encased in ice and grew sharp enough to leave slash marks on a tree. She closed her hands and squeezed them, ice started to shape in them. When she opened her eyes, in front of her was a heart made of ice.

Rin squealed as she kept making and removing the ice for a few hours, her mind filled with images of witchcraft and the spells the Windwitches would cast on those who thought that they could disrespect them.

…

…

…

Rin heard a knock on the door, she quickly melted the ice and looked at Freya to hide, but the kitten had disappeared anyway.

Rin blanked her face and opened the door, before she sighed as she saw Yuri with Ruri standing behind him. She opened the door more letting the two get in quietly. Then she looked out of the hallway, glad to find that no one followed them here, and closed the door behind them. 

“What is it?” Rin asked as Ruri walked around the room and rubbed her arms.

“Is this place cold or is it just me?” Ruri asked 

“I feel fine,” Rin said with a shrug, answering honestly. 

“It does feel cold,” Yuri pointed out before looking at Rin. “Figuring your powers out?” he asked with a smirk raising his eyebrow. 

Rin chuckled. “Pretty much,” she said before extending her hand, showing both of them the ice forming over her nails. Ruri’s eyes widened as she wrapped a blanket on the bed around herself. 

“So what’s going on?” Rin asked as she flicked her hands again and the ice was gone.

“I talked with Father last night,” Yuri answered 

“And?” asked Rin. “What happened?”

“It’s about...her.” Yuri answered.

“Her?” Rin asked, a chill falling down her spine.

“Ray,” Ruri answered. 

“What about her?” Rin asked, narrowing her eyes. “Did something happen? Did Lord Zarc destroy her soul once and for all?” 

Yuri licked his lips as he also sat on the bed. “Her and Father made a...a truce.”

“A truce?!” Rin screeched.

Yuri sighed. “Ray had always been… dear to my Father. They truly did love one another, despite the betrayal. He almost killed her but they had come to a certain...understanding, as far as I was told.”

“What happens to us now?” Ruri asked. 

“Neither of you or Serena is connected to Ray, all the ties that you two have had with her were severed. The only one who still is is Yuzu, the one from Standard. In fact, it was  _ Yuzu’s _ idea to have Ray confront Father.”

“This could have ended with blood,” Ruri said, not sure what to make of this girl. 

“Yeah, it could’ve,” Yuri sighed. “But Ray was one of his treasures, and it’s near impossible to make a dragon let go of them, he was angry at her, but she said she had no idea that the En-cards would have this sort of effect on the world and she couldn’t exactly stop her father from what he was doing.”

“So…” Rin surmised. “We have another ghostly ally?” 

“Basically,” Yuri said. “She’s not exactly an all powerful being. She was human, and thus she  _ certainly  _ wasn’t a threat to Father. I guess he just wanted to keep Ray.” 

“And you don’t know how to feel about that, huh?” Ruri asked. 

“I’m still angry at her, I can’t say I forgive her for what she did, even if Father does. It causes me unease,” he confessed. “After all, if it wasn’t for this, then I wouldn’t have been  _ gaslighted _ by her father to become his personal bitch.” 

“Well, we can’t exactly tell you how to feel,” Rin said. “We’re not gonna tell you to forgive her or anything.”

“And we honestly don’t know how to feel about this revelation,” Ruri finished. 

“That’s true,” Yuri sighed, running his hand through his hair. 

“Is there anything else we should know?” Rin asked. 

“Two things,” Yuri answered. “The Lancers will be heading out to Synchro in a few hours. The information came in yesterday. We’ll be following them a day after the Professor’s orders.”

“That’s good,” Rin said, her heart beating in her chest at the thought of seeing Yugo again. Ruri also couldn’t wait to see Shun and Yuto as well, she almost wanted to cry. 

“And the second thing?” Rin asked. 

Yuri reached into his pockets and produced two decks. “ A gift from Father,” he answered. “He wants you both to use them in Synchro until he has been resurrected.” 

Rin and Ruri took the two decks and looked at them, each of them drawing five cards and staring at what was in store for them.. 

“Dragon Vassals and Calamity Witches?” Rin asked, looking at the artwork. For some odd reason, the images on the cards felt so...real. Rin kept looking through the deck and found two monsters that grabbed her attention.  _ Oh so that’s why Lord Zarc asked for pieces of our souls  _ she thought to herself, before going through the extra deck. 

“The decks are powerful, but new for both of you. You should learn how to use it before you head to Synchro,” Yuri advised. 

“These monsters though…” Rin said, staring at two in her hand. “They’re so...so…”

_ “So what? Cool? Awesome? Absolutely badass? Come on, Rinrin! Tell us!” _

“Yah!” Ruri yelled at the voice and fell to the floor, dropping the cards in her hand. “W...what the hell?!” 

Ruri looked up to see a young boy with green hair pulled into a ponytail with bangs and strands of hair framing his face, wearing a white jacket with a blue shirt under it, white shorts and with wings on his back. Not just any wings, but dragon wings that looked like parchment.

Yuri blinked at the new person in the room. “Well, I wanted to keep it a surprise…” 

“Who the hell are you and how did you get here?!” Ruri asked, clearly panicking.

“I’m Leo!” The boy said with a grin, putting his hands behind his head. 

“...This is exactly like Freya,” Rin muttered. 

“W-who’s Freya?!” Ruri asked.

“Oh um…” 

Suddenly, the white cat spirit jumped into Rin’s lap and meowed. “This is Freya,” Rin answered petting the cat and making the feline purr in her hands. “She’s the Familiar of my Windwitches.”

“What’s a Familiar?” Ruri asked, raising her eyebrows. It seemed as if all Ruri had was questions; how is Rin so calm about all of this?

“Familiars are basically Witch pets, they have a job of helping or guiding a young witch into her powers,” Rin explained. “She showed up this morning, and I got used to the idea of duel monsters being able to get out of the cards I guess.”. 

“Did any other Windwitch appear?” Yuri asked. 

“No, just Freya,” Rin said with a sigh. 

“...Okay,” Ruri said about giving up on getting any semblance of ‘normal’ any more. Duel monsters are real, she made a deal with a Dragon King, she now has powers and duel spirits can be around. Not to mention that her boyfriend is a dragon prince. Okay...Okay...she can deal with this. 

Ruri sighed again and sat back on the bed. 

“So…?” Leo said with a grin. “What do you guys think about us?” he asked with a wink. 

“Just what are you?” asked Rin. “What’s a Dragon Vassal and a Calamity Witch?”

“The Dragon Vassals are souls that got trapped in Darkness and fused with their Dragons to be saved by the Supreme Kings, while the Witches are women who defy what Fate had given them and survived to live on,” a soft voice answered as a woman with short red hair, a broken mask with an eye. She wore  a black witch’s hat with a thorned red rose, black cape, knee high heeled boots, a choker with a red rose in the middle of it, black short dress with cascading ruffles in the back and long black sleeves .

“AHHH!!!” Ruri screamed, but Yuri quickly covered her mouth. 

“Akiza!” Leo squealed, practically tackling the newcomer. 

Akiza patted Leo’s head and removed her mask, showing a pretty heart shaped face and kind eyes to the two girls and Yuri. “I’m Akiza  Izayoi , but you can call me ‘Aki’, for short.”

“A real life witch?” Rin whispered.

“Kinda. My nickname was ‘Black Rose Witch’, but I was actually a Psychic duelist. After the Darkness, I was reborn. I suppose I  _ am  _ a witch now. It’s nice to meet you both finally. You as well, Prince Yuri.”

Rin smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too, Aki.” 

“How many of you are there?” Ruri asked. 

“Thirteen Witches and ten Vassals,” Akiza answered. “Although one Witch and one Vassal were taken to be with the Human Supreme King.”

“I’m sorry,  _ Human _ Supreme King?” Rin asked. “I thought  _ Zarc  _ was the only king.”

“No, Father is only one of two Supreme Kings. They have equal powers, and generally on the same side in order to keep balance between order and chaos,” Yuri explained. 

“Oh…” Ruri said softly. 

“We will be here to guide you,” Akiza said. “All of us.”

“Thank you, Aki,” Rin said, hoping to know more about these spirits and be able to use them well in future duels. Anything she could do to repay the debt she owes Zarc, she would put her blood and tears into it. 

Akiza smiled and nodded. “Now, let’s get you three acquainted with us shall we?” the red headed young woman said, smiling at the three of them as they got to know the other spirits 

**********

Yusho Sakaki has had a  _ long _ time to reflect on what he’s done during the past three years. He was transported into the wrong dimension, teaching other kids about Show Dueling, the invasion, his meeting with Aster Phoenix, hurting his leg, and being found by this rebellion, and helping former Academia students fight off 

In their little hideaway, Yusho had helped teach and train students, he saw their weakness and strengths. However, unlike his second in command, he prioritized these children having fun over being cruel. He believed that through dueling, they can get into the hearts of Academia students and show  _ them  _ the fun of the game, instead of it being used for destruction. 

It has been a long three years, and he missed his wife and child. He wondered how they were doing. How were they? Were they alright? Could Yoko find a job to pay for the bills? Was Shuzo doing okay taking care of You Show Duel School? These were questions he asked himself all the time. He sighed as he closed his eyes. When he had decided to talk to Akaba, he hadn’t believed that it would take him this long to get back to his own dimension. He wanted to talk some sense into Akaba, wanted to know why he was doing all of this, make sure that Reiji didn’t have to go through this trouble of training an army. And if need be to stop him at all costs. 

He really wished that some things hadn’t gone the way they did, but he couldn’t change anything now. No matter how many times he keeps looking into the past and remind himself where things started to go wrong. 

Yusho walked through the hall, right hand grasping the cane to keep him steady, and saw his second in command, Alexis Rhodes watching the students dueling. She had her arms crossed with a serious look on her face. 

“Is everything okay?” He asked her as he walked closer to her. 

“Things are doing fine,” she said. “But I’m concerned. Even with the amount of soldiers...er, allies, on our side, they’re small compared to the students who are truly for Akaba’s side. And as much as I hate to say it, some of us are not ready to face any huge forces.” 

Yusho smiled encouragingly at Alexis and placed a hand over her shoulder. “Then the time hasn’t come yet. This place is meant to be a safe haven as well as teaching school, it’s meant to protect first until these children feel ready. We can’t force them to fight in this war when they wanted to run from one in the first place.. 

“But what if we were found before we are ready?” She asked. “We don’t want this to be a repeat of  _ Heartland _ …”

Yusho winced at that, the memory of Academia invading the Xyz dimension still fresh in his mind. “Then we’ll retreat somewhere else. Senseless death to prove a point is senseless, especially when you know you’re not ready for such a fight. I’ll protect these students as much as I can, but the priority is to survive, be it through winning or running away.”

Alexis shook her head and let out a breath. “It still doesn’t feel right, especially with my brother...never mind. We need to keep training.”

Yusho looked at her with sympathetic eyes. When Alexis first met with Yusho, one of the things she mentioned was that her brother was still on the island. She said that something was wrong with him, but even she didn’t know what. He was still a loyal student of Akaba no matter what she tried to do. She said she never had the courage to face him in a duel, because in her mind dueling was for war. You only duel your enemy with everything you have because it’s either you survive or they do. 

Yusho tried time and time again to remove that mentality from the students. While he had succeeded with some of them, others still viewed duels as battles of survival, even training duels like the ones that they are having now. Every now and then, the loser would cover his face and shake in fear, waiting to be carded only to have Yusho or Alexis there, or even other students to calm them down.

It was a long process but Yusho was a patient man, and he wanted what’s best for these children. Leo Akaba had messed with these children’s minds badly; he hoped he could undo such damage to them…

Yusho sighed. “Come on, let’s have a duel you and I, you seem to need it,” Yusho said with a smile. 

Alexis looked at Yusho and sighed, giving him a weak smile. Yusho’s duels were always a spectacle. No one is ever afraid when the older man starts putting on his show, it works a lot of times to put students at ease and let them have fun with dueling. Even to Alexis. The blond girl nodded and both of them headed to an open space to start their duel. 

“Ladies and gentleman!” Yusho announced. “Are you ready for a show?”

The students stopped what they were doing and sat down eagerly as they waited for another one of Yusho’s famous duels to dazzle them once more, making them smile even for a little while. 

**********

  
  


Jim had no idea how he defeated Battle Beast, but he’s sure as glad he did so in one piece. Jim walked through the forest until he reached a building, one which Akaba himself had forbidden students from going near. He smiled when he first heard about that particular rule; some things just never change even from dimension to dimension. 

The Fossil duelist looked around making sure nobody was following him, with Shirley being calm despite the situation. Soon enough, he entered what students in Academia called the Abandoned Dorm. Why was it abandoned? Well, rumors said that some students decided to partake in deadly rituals involving the shadows and their souls were offered up to the monsters within the darkness. Some say that you can still hear the screams of the foolish students trapped within the dorm’s walls.

Why was it not burned to the ground was a mystery, but Jim is glad that it’s still standing.

Reaching inside into a particular wall in the basement of said dorm, Jim removed the bandages over his right, showing a silver prosthetic with a deep blue jewel inside of it and a long slash mark made not from Shirley, but rather from losing it to the rocks at the bottom of the cliff after he rescued her from being caught in a bear trap. This magic eye glowed orange, before a dark portal opened. A dark wind blew across the dorm, causing melted stubs of candles to suddenly light the dorm, making it look like Jim was about to chant “Bloody Mary” thirteen times.

Before this portal was a shadowy figure, one that was familiar to Jim. He smiled even as he looked at the black and gold armour that the man was wearing. Jim personally didn’t think it suited him, but it wasn’t like he had much say in anything about  _ Him.  _ The figure in black armor, four spikes rising from his shoulders, lifted his head, revealing cold eyes the color of the sun.

“Heya Jay, do I have some news for you.” Jim said with a smile.

“Good to see you in one piece, Jim,” This black armored person, “Jay”, replied. “So tell me, what do you got?” 

Jim grinned wide and Shirley also growled in excitement.

“It’s a bit of a long story ya see…”

  
{************************}  
  
  


** _OC Cards Windwitches. These are OC cards designed by Azurewitch-13 because there are only five actual cards for this archetype. I'm looking at you Konami, you better fix this!_ **

** _Main deck monsters _ **

**Windwitch Snowfall:** _ (Wind/ Lv 3 Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect Atk/Def 300/1200 _ ) 

If you have one or more windwitch on the field you can special summon this card from your hand, the opponent loses 500 points if this monster is normal summoned

_ (A girl with white hair and a short blue bodice and a black short skirt that reaches her mid thigh, a black witch’s hat with a blue and white viser riding a broomstick ) _

**Windwitch Calamity** :  _ (Wind/ LV 5 Spellcaster/Effect ATK/DEF 2200/2000) _

You can send one card from your hand to the graveyard and special summon this card 

_ (A young woman with green hair pulled into a high ponytail in blue armour, high dress neck, blue combat boots, blue gloves)  _

**Windwitch Carol bell** :  _ (Wind/LV 2 Spellcaster/ Tuner/Effect ATK/DEF 1000/1000) _

If this card is in the graveyard Windwitch monsters can’t be destroyed in Battle. 

_ (A girl with red and white hair, wearing a red bodice with sleeves that is decorated with fluffy cotton on the wrists and the line of the bodice, with a short red skirt and thigh high red boots, a witch’s hat with a red and white viser) _

**Windwitch Bell Toller** :  _ (Wind/Lv 4 Spellcaster/Effect) ATK/DEF 1600/2000) _

If this card is on the graveyard your Windwitch monsters can’t be destroyed by Card effects. 

_ (A young witch/church priest with a crown of bells floating over her head like a balloon which she constantly keeps ringing happily) _

  
  


** _Extra deck monsters _ **

**Windwitch Carillon:** _ (Wind/LV 6 Spellcaster/ Fusion/ Atk/Def 2000/2000 ) [2 ‘Windwitch Monsters]) _

Gains 200 Atk/Def points for every Windwitch in the graveyard add a Windwitch Spell/Trap card from your Deck to your hand. She has to Skip her next draw phaze. If this monster is destroyed by battle you can return one Windwitch from your Graveyard to your hand. 

_ (A young woman with white hair with a purple bow tying her hair into a ponytail,a dress with a purple bodice decorated with glitter crystals that falls down into a black skirt, a black witch’s hat with purple and black visor with sharp black nails) _

**Windwitch Angelus Bell:** _ (Wind/ LV8/Synchro Spellcaster/Effect Atk/Def 2800/3000) _ _ [1 ‘Windwitch’ non-Tuner monster + 1 Tuner]  _ Send 3 card from the top of your deck to the graveyard and Destroy one card for every ‘Windwitch’ monster in your on the field

_ ( A woman with white hair, a white bodice with a white sash like sleeve that goes over her shoulder, decorated with small roses that trail all over it, her midrist is exposed, with a white skirt with deep blue edges and a white tiara decorated with deep blue gemstones with a veil that trails down her back ) _

** _Spell/Trap cards _ **

**Ice Castle of the Snow Queen:** _Field Spell_

  * For each Windwitch monster is summoned to the field the opponent loses 200 LP
  * Add 300 ATK/DEF points to every Windwitch on the field. 

_ (A beautiful ice castle with a snowy forest covering it while Windwitch Ice Bell and Glass Bell flying towards it) _

**Weather Witch:** Trap Card 

  * Special summon one Windwitch from your Graveyard to the Field in defense mode 
  * If this Card is destroy card effect you can search one Windwitch from your Deck and place it in your hand

_ (Windwitch Ice Bell on her flying broomstick with Windwitch Carol Bell sitting behind her, one hand wrapped around Glass Bell while the other is extended to the colorful sky while Windwitch Soulrain waits her turn .)  _

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Windwitch OC cards belong to me Azurewitch-13. 
> 
> Please leave a cooment if you liked the chapter. 
> 
> Next: Synchro


End file.
